My Life as a Teenage Shinobi
by Kawaii Yoshi
Summary: It's finally happened: the rookie nine are growing up! What will the teachers do?...what won't they do? Read and find out! Warning: AU, slight OOC. Rated for poking silliness at the wonders of being a teenager. COMPLETE.
1. Team 7: The Visitor and the VoICE

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Also, I don't own "My Life as a Teenage Robot". In fact, it has nothing to do with the show. I'm just borrowing the title.

**My Life as a Teenage Shinobi**

"Sakura! Get up, you'll be late for training!"

"Mmph..." Sakura buried her head in her pillows. 'Kakashi-sensei is always late, why can't I be?'

"Sakura!! Are you awake yet?"  
  
'Just five more minutes...'

"SAKURA!!!"

"Ahh!" Sakura yelled as she fell out of bed. She got up and started to untangle herself from the sheets.

"Okay okay! I'm up already!!" she screamed, kicking off the last of the sheets. 'Maybe I should go to bed earlier...'

She grumpily stomped off to the bathroom to do her business. And shrieked loud enough to wake up the neighbors. And quite possibly all of Konoha. "MOM!!!"

.

.

.

"...every month. And that's all there is to it. There's no avoiding it." Mrs. Haruno sighed as she finished her explanation. Sakura listened throughout the entire thing with wide eyes.

"Every month? How do you live with it? Doesn't it bother you?" she asked.

"Yes. You get used to it. No it doesn't bother me at all," her mom replied. She sighed again. "Now I don't understand why you didn't learn this in school! They should have taught you!"

"Mother, I went to a NINJA academy, not regular school, remember? They don't teach us things like...that." She suddenly had a vision of Iruka telling them about the wonders of being a teenager. Sakura shuddered. Then she caught sight of the time.

"Gah!! I'm going to be late! Mom I'll see you after training okay?" Sakura kissed her mother on the cheek and ran outside.

Mrs. Haruno sighed once again. "My little girl is finally growing up..." Then she was hit with something. Not literally!!

"...WAIT, Sakura! I forgot to tell you about..."

But unfortunately, Sakura was already gone.

-::-::-::-

Sakura ran down the streets of Konoha ninja style as fast as she could. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

"Ow!" she slowed down to a halt, holding her stomach in pain. The villagers stared at her for a moment, then went on to continue whatever they were doing.

"What the hell!" Sakura yelled to herself. "My mom didn't tell her anything about stomach pains. How could she have missed that one important little detail? How will I train now with this annoying cramp in my stomach? What would Kakashi-sensei think of me? First I'm late, now I can't train..."

"Sakura, what are you doing?" a familiar voice said behind Sakura as she continued to ask herself meaningless questions.

"Naruto will think I'm weird and...ah! Who cares about Naruto? Sasuke-kun will hate me because I won't be able to train with him!"

"Sakura..."

"I'm going to let the whole team down! I'll be weak forever! All because MY MOM DIDN'T TELL ME ABOUT CRAMPS!"

"FOREHEAD GIRL SAKURA!!"

Sakura stopped complaining and looked up. "Ino-pig...what is it? Can't you see I'm busy--," Sakura's eyes traveled to Ino's forehead.

"Ino, why is your forehead protector...on your forehead?" she asked.

Ino slightly turned red and said, "Well forehead girl, that's where it's supposed to go, isn't it?"

"Yes but...didn't we agree on not wearing our forehead protectors on our foreheads until we have a fair fight? And who are you calling forehead girl? If you haven't noticed, your forehead's as big as mine!" Ino raised an eyebrow. Actually, it wasn't about the comment on her forehead. It seemed like she was counting how many times Sakura had said the word 'forehead'.

'Fore?' Ino snickered to herself.

"Well..." Sakura smirked slightly. "Did you want to fight now, Ino-pig?"

Ino stopped snickering. "No, it's not that..." Ino protested. "I can't fight with you right now. I have to meet my team...I'm running late..."

Sakura's eyes widened. "The team! Training!! Now I'm really late! Look what you did, Ino-PIG! We'll have to fight later!" With that she took off.

Ino looked relieved. She made sure her forehead protector was secure, and ran off to meet her team.

-::-::-::-

'Idiot...' Sasuke thought as Naruto tried to hold back his laughter, which of course, wasn't working at all.

"Hahaha! Hey Sasuke, c'mon, talk to me!" Naruto laughed. Sasuke merely glared at him.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun, Naruto!" Sakura's voice reached their ears. Naruto gave Sasuke a mischievous look, and turned around to greet the pink-haired ninja.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!!" Naruto greeted happily. "Guess what, guess what? Sasuke--,"

"Good morning, everyone!" Naruto was interrupted by a man sitting on the side of the bridge, reading his Icha Icha Paradise book. Sasuke looked glad to see him. But he looked disgusted at the book his teacher was holding.

"Ah, Kakashi-sensei, guess what, guess what!" Naruto said excitedly as if Christmas was coming early. He seemed to have forgotten that Kakashi, AND Sakura, were both late.

Kakashi looked up from his book, his visible eye showing curiosity. "Hm? What's that, Naruto?"

"Sasuke's...OOF!"

SPLASH!  
  
Kakashi and Sakura looked at Sasuke, who had kicked Naruto off the bridge.

"Sasuke-kun, what's the matter?" Sakura asked him, a little suspicious. Sasuke didn't answer. He walked over to the side of the bridge and rested his head on his arms as he watched Naruto reach the surface of the water, gasping for air.

"Sasuke!! I'll get you for this!" Naruto yelled as he swam to land.

"Sasuke, can you tell me why exactly you knocked Naruto off the bridge?" Kakashi asked, the tiniest bit amused. Sasuke didn't bother to respond.

"SASUKE!" was all Sasuke heard before he was knocked onto the ground on his stomach. He struggled to get up, but couldn't, as Naruto was sitting on top of him, grinning.

"You can't get away now!!" the blonde haired boy said.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at the two. "Naruto, what's going on?"

"Listen to him yourself. Sasuke! Say something!" Naruto said to the person he was sitting on. "Say something or I'll tell them myself!"

"Get OFF ME!" Sasuke said. Except, it didn't sound like Sasuke at all. In fact, it sounded like a little girl whining.

Kakashi and Sakura froze. Naruto just started laughing again.

"NarUto, I swEAr, if yOU don't get Off me..." Sasuke's voice kept cracking. Suddenly, Sakura started to laugh along with Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun...you sound like...a...MUNCHKIN!" she said, laughing. Naruto laughed so hard that he fell off Sasuke and started rolling on the floor. Kakashi snorted and started reading again. And Sasuke...

Sasuke just laid there, anger boiling up inside him. Oh, and embarrassment too. 'Don't let them get to me. Uchiha Sasuke does NOT get embarrassed! But...what's really happening to my voice?'

All of a sudden, Sakura stopped laughing and winced in pain. 'Oh no...not...again...' she thought. The three boys stopped thinking about the Sasuke predicament and got up.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" Naruto asked with a worried look on his face. Sakura straightened up once the feeling was completely gone.

"Ah...nothing, Naruto. It's just normal," she replied.

The three looked at her, still not convinced.

"Erm...well...all girls...have to go through with it..." she mumbled, turning as pink as her hair.

Kakashi looked at Sakura, then at Sasuke...then at Naruto.

"Hm..." he started.

"What?" they asked, Sasuke's voice giving off a little squeak at the end.

Kakashi's smile could be seen through his mask. "You're all going through..." he stopped there and giggled, raising a hand to scratch the back of his head.

"What?!" the three asked again.

"You're going through..." he let out another giggle. The genins gave him an annoyed look.

"Hey, hey! Through what, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, trying to stop the giggling Kakashi from...giggling.

"...through...through...pu...hahaha!" Kakashi started to cackle like an insane person.

"Kakashi-sensei!!" Naruto and Sakura yelled. Sasuke didn't bother to yell because...well, you know.

"...pu...pub..." Kakashi snickered. It seemed like the word "pu" was the funniest thing on earth to him right now.

"WhAT IS it alrEADY?" Sasuke's ever changing voice said. But alas, it only made Kakashi laugh even harder. Sakura rolled her eyes. She grabbed the front of Kakashi's vest and started to shake him.

"Sensei!!" she said, shaking him like there was no tomorrow. Which looked weird, because all the while Kakashi was still laughing like a madman holding a perverted book in his hands. Naruto and Sasuke sweatdropped.

"Okay, okay..." Kakashi stopped Sakura from shaking him and finally stopped laughing hard enough to answer. "Well, let's just say you're growing up."

"Growing up?" said Naruto. Kakashi looked at him.

"Maybe except you."

"What?!?! Why?"

"You idiot! Isn't it obvious? Sasuke's voice is changing because he's more mature than you are!" Sakura said, smacking Naruto on the head. Naruto turned to her.

"But what about you, Sakura-chan? Your voice isn't changing?" this statement earned Naruto another smack on the head.

"Idiot!" she said again. "I'm a girl! It's different!" Naruto scrunched up his face.

"But, but, how come MY voice isn't changing?"

"MAybe it's becAUse yOU're a gIrl," Sasuke squeaked.

With that answer, Naruto stared hard at Sasuke and pointed at him. "Shut up! Guess what?! I've decided that I'm going to beat you at being more mature!"

"IdIOt. ThAt dOESn't even mAke seNse," Sasuke said, his voice as squeaky as ever.

"It makes perfect sense! I have to beat everyone at everything if I'm to become Hokage!"

"What does growing older first have to do with being Hokage?" Sakura asked, looking annoyed for Sasuke.

Naruto grinned at her. "Everything!" he said. "Now...how do I become more mature?" he asked her, his voice slightly lower. Sakura's eye twitched. Then she calmed down. She decided that she would just humor him.

'AND LET'S HAVE SOME FUN WHILE WE'RE AT IT!' Inner Sakura yelled gleefully. Sakura held back a giggle.

"Well, to start off, you have to stop playing those jokes of yours," she started. Naruto nodded, repeating what she said.

"No more jokes. No problem."

"Next, you have to stop screaming in that whiny voice of yours all the time. A mature person does not scream, and he definitely does NOT whine," Sakura said.

"No screaming, no whining, easy," Naruto repeated.

She continued. "Then, you have to stop asking those stupid questions of yours."

"No more stupid questions. Is that all to this maturity thing?" Naruto said to himself.

"And finally..." Sakura smirked slightly, "...you have to eat healthy. You can't live off ramen for the rest of your life, you know!"

At this, Naruto stopped talking to himself and stared at Sakura. "NO WAY! You mean to say that I can't have ramen anymore? You're JOKING!"

Sakura smacked her head. "Naruto, have you been listening to anything I've been saying? You just broke every rule of maturity in those three sentences!...anyway, you can have ramen, just not everyday. Actually, let's say you can only have ramen once a week." With that, she crossed her arms with a smug look on her face. Naruto just kept staring, slack jawed.

Kakashi decided that that was enough and cleared his throat. "Well everyone, now that that's taken care of, why don't you three go off for one hundred laps around Konoha?"

Sakura looked at him. "Er...but Kakashi-sensei..."

"Alright, fifty laps."

Sakura sighed. She then raised an eyebrow. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Puberty."

Kakashi doubled over in laughter as Sakura snickered and went off to catch up with the others.

-::-::-::-

**AN:** I know, stupid idea. But it was just sort of bugging me to get typed up so I did it. After working on my other fic in progress, I wanted a more light hearted story. And what better than to focus on the rookie nine going through their teenage years? Yes, that's right, I'm doing a chapter for each team. Most likely two per team. Next chapter will be Team 10! I still don't know if I'm going to add Gai's team in here. But it would be funny to have Gai give them "the talk"...

I also noticed that I made Kakashi a bit OOC. Well I h ave seen him giggle in the anime, so why not giggle here? Besides, this fic is sort of AU anyway. And Sasuke, goin g through the voice change? Priceless, isn't it? Hehe. Naruto, being ever so competitive, wants to beat Sasuke at being more mature. And finally, Sakura, the typical teenage girl who has to go through that process every month. I assumed that they didn't teach that sort of stuff at the ninja academy because they graduate from school at an early age.

Yes, I know the "fore" joke was a horrible pun. But, whatever.

Anyway, enough rambling from me. Was my story generally good enough so I should continue? Or should this one be sent to the recycle bin? Tell me what you think. Please, no flames...

Thanks for reading,

Kawaii Yoshi


	2. Team 10: Growth and A New Friend

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

**My Life as a Teenage Shinobi**

"Hm, I wonder where my team could be?" Asuma asked himself, exhaling a puff of smoke, not noticing a few villagers staring at him like he was some sort of bum. Unfortunately for him, his team was pulling a "Kakashi" on him. Even more unfortunately, he used up two packs of cigarettes already while waiting for them.

He sat down at their usual meeting spot outside the building across from the ninja academy. And sighed. And waited. And smoked.

Finally, after a few more minutes of waiting, he saw a familiar chuunin vest in the distance. Well, maybe it was familiar because he practically wore the same vest, but he knew it was HIS chuunin after seeing the slow, steady way the person was moving. He sat back against a tree and closed his eyes. This would take a few more minutes…

He had gone through another cigarette (with his eyes still closed; he had done it so many times already that it was just habit) when Shikamaru finally arrived.

"Really, Shikamaru, can't you walk any faster?" Asuma said, puffing away.

"No," Shikamaru spoke in his lazy voice. Asuma heard a light thump next to him and assumed that Shikamaru sat down. Or more likely, lay down.

"Hey Shikamaru," Asuma said, eyes still closed.

"What?"

"Do you know why Ino and Chouji are late?" Asuma asked, not bothering to ask why Shikamaru himself was late, for judging by how slow he was walking, he already knew why.

"No," was what Shikamaru was about to say, when…

"Hey you guys! Sorry I'm late, I just ran into forehead girl on the way and…" Shikamaru and Asuma just tuned out what Ino was saying and continued relaxing under the tree.

"…and then I finally made it here. Where's Chouji?" she asked, listening for the crunching noises her other teammate usually made. The two under the tree simply shrugged, Asuma's eyes still closed and Shikamaru looking elsewhere. Ino looked annoyed.

"C'mon, you two, are you just going to sit there all day?" Ino asked, hands on her hips.

"Unless Chouji comes, then yes," Asuma answered her, lighting yet another cigarette.

"Asuma-sensei, I think Shikamaru has rubbed off on you," Ino muttered under her breath. "We could be doing something useful other than sitting under this tree waiting for Chouji, you know!" she said a little louder.

Shikamaru looked at her from the spot he was lying on. "Ino, you're not sit…" He sat up. "Ino…why is your forehead protector…on your forehead?" he asked slowly, as if Ino was someone that did not understand English. Asuma opened his eyes to see that Ino had, indeed, put her forehead protector…on her forehead.

Ino rolled her eyes. 'Not this question again…maybe if I answer the same way as I did to forehead girl, they'd just leave me alone and they won't find out…' she thought. She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something 'as-a-matter-of-factly', but started coughing once she found that she inhaled a bunch of Asuma's cigarette smoke. Shikamaru raised his eyebrow at her. When she calmed down, she took care not to inhale anymore and started talking.

"Well it's a forehead protector, therefore it goes on my forehead. Shikamaru, you should consider doing the same with yours," she said, turning away to inhale the fresh air that was not under the tree. Oh…wait…

Anyway, Shikamaru leaned back under said tree much like Asuma was doing. "Tch. Like I'd do something as troublesome as that."

Asuma exhaled a puff of smoke. "Shikamaru, I don't even understand how you tie that thing on your arm. Do you get someone else to do it for you or do you have another arm I'm not aware of?" he said.

Ino nodded. "You know Shikamaru, I'd like to see that thing on your forehead for once. C'mon, now get up," Ino said, pulling his arm so he could stand up. He seemed irritated at her but he stood anyway. Asuma and Ino stared at him.

"What," he asked, "staring isn't polite, you know," he added with a bored look.

"Hey, Shikamaru, you didn't happen to grow a foot overnight, did you?" Ino asked, tilting her head slightly towards the sky so she would see Shikamaru's face.

"No, actually, I grew about two inches this past week," Shikamaru simply stated. "I'm surprised you two didn't notice 'til now."

Asuma stood up and stood next to Shikamaru.

"Hey!" he said. "You're taller than me! That's not fair at all!" He started to light another cigarette as he said this.

"Hey Asuma-sensei, maybe you didn't finish growing because you smoke too much," Ino told him, looking disgusted at the cigarette butts littered all over the floor.

Asuma looked aghast. "Me? Smoke too much? No way! You should have seen my father smoke, now THAT was too much," he said, as he proudly took another puff of smoke.

Shikamaru started to talk again. "Actually Ino, smoking doesn't really stunt your grow…OOF!"

Ino had elbowed him in the stomach. "Shut up, maybe this will get Asuma-sensei to stop using that cancer stick every day," she whispered so that only Shikamaru could hear. He sighed exasperatedly.

"Fine, fine. Do whatever you want."

Ino turned to Asuma. "Well I bet you can't go a week without smoking!"

Asuma crossed his arms. "My dear Ino, is that a bet? And what do I get if I win, hm?"

"Um…ah!" She snapped her fingers. "We check your height! If you grew even a teensy bit, I win. And if you didn't then you lose. How's that?"

Shikamaru looked at Ino as if SHE were the one smoking. "Ino, have you lost it? He'll never fall for that," he said under his breath.

"DEAL!" Asuma shook Ino's hand.

'Tch. I think our sensei's got smoke clouding his mind. How troublesome…" Shikamaru thought.

-

"Hey, Chouji! Remember, meet us back here at 9 p.m. tonight. Don't be late, okay?"

"Okay! Don't forget our deal!" Chouji waved goodbye to the two boys as he happily bounced off to Team 10's meeting place. 'Teehee…I can't wait!' he grinned.

He kept grinning to himself until he finally reached the meeting place. Shikamaru was standing there with his usual bored expression while Asuma and Ino were shaking hands.

"Hey guys!" Chouji greeted them.

Asuma let go of Ino's hand. "Chouji, why are you so late?" he asked, exhaling smoke as he talked. Ino promptly took the cigarette out of his mouth, threw it on the floor, and stepped on it.

"Asuma-sensei, you're starting now. Give me all your packs of cigarettes," Ino said, holding out her hand.

"Ino, how do I know YOU'RE not going to start smoking once I give you these?" Asuma asked, looking suspicious.

Ino looked shocked. "Me? Smoke! And ruin my life? Fine…Shikamaru, take them!"

"Are you saying you want to ruin my life?"

"Shut up, just take them!" she said, pushing him towards Asuma, who was busy going through all his pockets, taking out the three packs of cigarettes in each one.

"And get caught with them? No way, Ino." Shikamaru slightly backed away.

Ino looked pissed. She finally turned to Chouji, who was staring at her forehead.

"Ok Chouji, YOU take them!

...Chouji!"

"Ino, why is your forehead protector on your forehead?" he asked, pointing at her forehead protector.

-

Naruto glared at the person running next to him. 'Stupid Sasuke, he'll see, I can beat him at this maturity thing!...too bad I already had ramen for breakfast…' Naruto thought with a frown.

Sasuke was aware Naruto was staring at him. For the entire twenty laps they had just done. 'Hmph. I wish Sakura had told him that not being around me was a rule to maturity. How annoying.'

-

"…supposed to go on my forehead! See, like yours! AND Asuma-sensei's!" Ino explained once again to Chouji.

"But it's never been on your forehead before. Ino, do you have a zit or something?" Chouji asked. Shikamaru had a hint of a smirk on his face while Ino turned a bright red.

"Chou…ji…" she said with a murderous look that could match one of Gaara's. She was about to begin her rant about how insensitive he was, which included some very colorful vocabulary, when she was interrupted.

"DamnIT! Stop stARing at mE!"

"Huh?" she turned to see Sasuke and Naruto glaring at each other, running faster than the speed of light. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's…wait! Wrong story.

Anyway, Sasuke and Naruto were headed straight for her. Ino seemed transfixed at the sight. Well not Naruto, but…

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino shouted. But her cries were not heard, as the running pair crashed into her. Which resulted in Sasuke landing on top of her, putting them in a rather suggestive position that a Sasuke fan club girl would kill for. Unfortunately, Naruto had landed on top of Sasuke, making Ino squished like a little bug. Don't tell Shino!

"Ugh…I…can't…breathe…" Ino gasped. She suddenly noticed that Sasuke was on top of her. And he was STARING AT HER! She blushed a deep red.

"Ah…Sasuke-kun…" Ino said, shyly. Then she noticed that Sasuke was looking at her forehead. Her eyes widened when she realized that her forehead protector had been knocked off when the two boys crashed into her.

"Gah! Get away! Don't look at me!" she said, pushing both Sasuke and Naruto off her while she turned away to look for her forehead protector.

"Ino, are you looking for this?" a more feminine voice said behind her. Sakura seemed to have caught up to the two while they were down. On Ino. Needless to say, she was horrified after seeing the sight. But it all changed after she found Ino's forehead protector.

"Sakura-chan, my best friend, can I please have my forehead protector back?" Ino asked, back still turned to the group.

"Um, why?" Sakura asked.

"Aw, Sakura-chan," said another voice. "Quit being mean!"

"Naruto, stop whining! I thought you were going to be more mature!"

"He's right Sakura, you're so mean!" Ino cried out, back still turned.

"Yeah! Just because she has a big thing on her forehead doesn't mean you shouldn't give her protector back!"

"He's right Sakura, just because I have a big…eh! NARUTO!" Ino turned and smacked Naruto on the head.

"Ow…not again!" he said, rubbing the bump that was steadily growing on the back of his head.

"Aha! I knew it! Ino has a zit!" Chouji intervened. Ino blushed in embarrassment as both teams, with the exception of Sasuke, (and of course, her!), started to laugh. A giggling Sakura handed her forehead protector over, which Ino snatched back, and hastily tied it back to her forehead.

Sakura suddenly stopped laughing and leaned against the tree. 'Ah…damnit!'

"Hey, hey, Sakura-chan?"

"It's nothing, Naruto."

"Sakura-chan!"

"I told you Naruto, it's nothing!"

"Sakura-chan!"

"NARUTO! What IS it?" she finally screamed in frustration.

"What's a zit? Do I need one to be more mature? How do you get one?"

Sakura slid down against the tree and sat in the pile of cigarette packs that was still growing as Asuma patted his pockets, Naruto animatedly asking questions all the way.

-

**AN**: And that's the end of that chapter for now. Ok, so it wasn't that funny…it was just plain weird. But anyway, I'm satisfied with it for now.

So this chapter included Shikamaru's growth spurt, Ino's new friend, and Chouji…well, you'll find out about Chouji soon enough. Even Asuma joined in all the fun! Also, when Sasuke tALks liKE thIs, is when his voice cracks. I know normal teenage boy's voices don't crack that often, but hey, it's fiction!

Like I said in the first chapter, this is a slight AU and almost everyone is slightly OOC, hence Kakashi giggling like a weirdo. (but really, I can see him doing that!) You have been warned once again.

Next, we find Team 8! Only it's going to be the day after. But I'm still having a field day with Team 8 because mainly Kiba and Shino are so hard to think about when it comes to growing up…hm…ok, maybe just Shino.

I decided to try to fit in Gai's team in here. So watch out for that chapter.

Well, as always, thanks for reading, and thanks for all those reviews I got for the first chapter. Now if it's not too much trouble, please review this one

Kawaii Yoshi


	3. Team 8: Whiskers and Features

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

**My Life as a Teenage Shinobi**

'Ah, beautiful day, don't you think, guys?' Shino thought to his bugs as he leaned against a tree that was part of their training area.

And yes, it was a beautiful day. There was barely a cloud in sight, and a slight wind was blowing, making the shade under the trees a nice place to just relax in peace. Nothing can ruin this moment for our favorite bug boy.

"Shino, what's that on your face?"

Shino looked a tad irritated at Kiba's sudden question. He had forgotten that Kiba was there at all.

"Why Shino, is that a stubble?"

Kiba grinned. Shino just stared at him.

Kiba started to dance around the clearing in the forest where they were currently at, Akamaru jumping around at his side. "Shino's growing whiskers! I can't believe it! Shino's growing whiskers!" he shouted as if it were the most important thing in the world.

Shino didn't say anything and decided to look elsewhere. He wasn't annoyed about the fact that he was growing in a 'stache, but he was plenty embarrassed that Kiba was dancing around yelling it to the world. Even though they were the only two there.

Shino thought about setting a few bugs off on Kiba, but the bugs inside him protested, saying that he was better off with the fleas.

"G-Good morning, Shino-kun, Kiba-kun," said a timid voice from behind the trees. Hinata poked her head out around one of the trees, as if she didn't want the two to see anymore than her face.

Kiba suddenly stopped dancing and waved to Hinata. "Hey Hinata! C'mon out, Shino's got something to show you!" At this, Shino plainly looked annoyed.

"U-um…" Hinata hesitated.

Kiba walked over to her. "C'mon, Hinata! You know how we've had a few days off from training, right? Well Shino has a…souvenir from his vacation," he said, giggling like a small child. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the tree.

And practically got a nosebleed. He held his finger up to his nose in a way that he might have held back a sneeze, while looking at Hinata. She was wearing her regular pants, but also wore a rather tight shirt that showed off all her features.

…Wait. When did Hinata get features?

Kiba said the first thing that came to mind. "So Hinata, I guess you lost the j-jacket, huh?" he said, stuttering like Hinata.

Shino rolled his eyes at him from under those cool shades he's always wearing.

Hinata blushed. "Y-Yeah, my mother…told me not to bring my j-jacket today because she wanted me to s-show m-my…b-because… she wanted me t-to sh-show…b-because…b-because it was hot today," she finished off rather lamely, even though we all know what she was trying to say.

Well, maybe except Kiba, who couldn't quite think straight.

"But Hinata, you always wear your jacket even though it's scorching. You know, just like me and Shino," he said, his eyes going back to her front, but zipping right back up to her face, as if he couldn't control himself.

'What's going on with me? I've never really LOOKED at Hinata before…' He started to sweat. 'I guess it IS pretty hot…' Kiba's jumbled mind thought.

Suddenly, Akamaru barked softly in his ear.

Kiba blushed even redder than Hinata. "Akamaru!" he whispered angrily to his dog. "What did you MEAN by 'ask her what size she is'?" He was then aware that Hinata and Shino were listening to their conversation and he started to bark at Akamaru himself.

"Bark bark, ruff ruff! Bark!" was all Hinata and Shino heard after that.

"Morning, everyone!" the voice of their jounin teacher reached their ears. For that, they were all relieved.

"Good morning, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata said as Kurenai jumped down from the branch of a tree. Kiba was still barking with Akamaru, and Shino just gave a slight nod.

"Hey Hinata," Kurenai said to her only female student and turned her head so that she could see all three of her students.

"So, is everyone ready for trai…" She suddenly did a double take.

"You know Hinata, you look…well…different today. I guess the vacation did you some good?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"O-Oh yes…it was…very relaxing," Hinata answered, twiddling her fingers.

Kurenai smiled. 'At least she's still the shy little Hinata we all used to know,' she thought. She then started her little address to the whole group again.

"Alright everyone, since I was being soft on you and gave you a few days off, you'll have to work extra har...

Shino, is it just me or are you growing some hair right there?" Kurenai said, cutting her speech short. She was pointing to his upper lip. This seemed to snap Kiba out of his argument with his dog.

"Yeah, yeah! Shino's growing whiskers!" he started saying again as if nothing happened after Hinata got there.

'Can I set some of you guys on him now?' Shino thought to his creepy crawly friends. But they only declined. 'Tch. You guys are supposed to help me whenever I need it,' he argued with them. They argued back. He argued some more. And they kept arguing back.

This continued on for a couple minutes. Kiba stopped yelling and noticed that Shino wasn't even paying attention to him. 'Bah, he's no fun!' Kiba thought.

"Shino, why is it that you always just stand there and…not say anything?" Kiba said, waving his hands in front of Shino's face.

"No, you know what?! I don't even know why my ancestors decided to provide a home for you anyway! You're better off living in the streets like NORMAL bugs do!" Shino suddenly yelled angrily.

Kiba, Kurenai, and Hinata jumped a little at Shino's sudden outburst. They then stared at him as if he were the craziest person on earth. Shino stared back, a hint of red on his cheeks.

Kurenai cleared her throat. "...Well then! Let's get started, shall we?" she said with a smile on her face. She forced that smile to stay on as she noticed Kiba looking…no…STARING at Hinata, Hinata slightly turning her body away from the two boys, and Shino…well, being Shino.

'I really need to talk with someone about this…' Kurenai thought.

-::-::-::-

AN: Okay, shortest chapter in this fic so far. Actually, I didn't know how long this chapter was going to be, I just decided to work on it from the beginning on. But…since my other chapters were about seven to eight pages, and this one was only three, I'll have to write an even longer chapter for the next one, don't I?

So this chapter was about…Shino's facial hair, Hinata's feminine qualities developing, and Kiba…well…Kiba acting like a dog in heat. We also found out WHY SHINO IS ALWAYS SO QUIET.

Answering a few questions…

**bub****: **I know Gai's team is a year older. That's why I'm going to make it a little different…you'll see, maybe in the next chapter…or possibly after.

**koinux****: **Yes I just borrowed the title. I mentioned it in the disclaimer on the first chapter. Actually…between you and me, I don't even watch the show …lol

Right. Next chapter…the teachers decide to ask a reliable source for help with their growing subordinates. Well…maybe not reliable, but someone who's already been through this "teenage" stage with their students. Namely…Gai!!

So tell me what you thought about this chapter!

Kawaii Yoshi


	4. Gai's Team: A Talk and A Revelation

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

**My Life as a Teenage Shinobi**

"Okay! After your laps are finished we will start shuriken and kunai practice with our practice dummies! Although our girl Tenten doesn't need any practice because her aim is already true!" Gai said to his students, grinning widely at Tenten. They were in another forest clearing (different from Kurenai's clearing!) which Gai claimed to be their training area.

"Well, are you three ready?!" Gai asked enthusiastically, gaining an automatic response of "Yes, Gai-sensei!" from his favored student, Rock Lee.

"Good! Now let's--,"

"Yo! Gai!" a voice interrupted the ever excited teacher. Gai turned to see his three fellow jounins who also led a group of genin. Well, except Asuma, who had one chuunin.

Kakashi waved at Gai with a cheesy grin on his face that no one could see because of that stupid mask he's always wearing that covers his face that's supposedly the most handsome face anyone's ever seen. Unfortunately, no one has ever seen it. Not even Gai knows what he looks like, and they go way back!

Although there is a rumor that the owners of the ramen stand have had that once in a lifetime spectacle. But that's a different story.

"Yes, my rival and two other friends?! How may I help you on this superb day?!" he asked them, completely forgetting about his students.

"Well Gai, we have a question to ask you," Kurenai said.

"Okay then, ask away!" Gai said, giving them the thumbs up.

Asuma started talking. "It seems that our students are going through pub..."

He was interrupted by Kakashi, who burst out laughing.

"Pu...pub...hahaha!" Kakashi laughed.

Asuma and Kurenai raised their eyebrows at him. Gai's students stared at him. And Gai...?

'My rival Kakashi, your reaction to the word puberty is childish, and immature! But I respect you for being so open with yourself and others and not minding what anybody else thinks of you!' Gai thought with a clenched fist.

They were all silent as Kakashi's laughter subsided. Gai was the first to speak up.

"Ah, so your students are going through that wondrous time of growing out of their youth into adolescence? And you're asking me for advice! I feel so honored," Gai said, wiping an imaginary tear out of his eye.

"Um...yes, so, what exactly did you do with your students?" Kurenai asked.

Tenten and Neji stared at Kurenai with wide eyes.

"For the love of Hokage-sama! Please don't make us relive it!" Tenten screamed. Neji agreed with her vigorously in his mind.

Tenten and Neji then grabbed Lee and went off to run their forgotten laps...which they suddenly remembered.

After seeing this, the three jounins looked curiously at Gai.

He cleared his throat. "Well my fellow jounins, it all started about a year ago..."

_**FLASHBACK: About a year ago...**_

"_Gai-sensei?" Lee asked Gai while they were training one day in the forest._

"_Yes, my beloved Lee, what is it?"_

"_Well..." Lee looked at Tenten and Neji who were behind him. They looked back, as if they were waiting for him to do something. And so he did._

"_Gai-sensei, Neji, Tenten and I are all thirteen now... teenagers, don't they have to go through a process to fully become adults?" Lee asked, a little more timidly than Gai was used to._

_Gai grinned at the three of them. "So you want to know about puberty! Well gather around and have a seat, my favorite students! Gai-sensei will tell you all about it!"_

_Lee immediately sat down right in front of Gai, fully attentive of his father figure. Tenten and Neji took a glance at each other and slowly walked towards Gai. Tenten sat a few feet away from Lee and Neji sat against a tree near Tenten._

"_We're listening, Gai-sensei!" Lee said, excited._

_Gai cleared his throat._

"_Well my students, puberty is a fickle thing. You don't know WHAT will hit you! The flames of youth will be put out forever, and in its place, a spark of adolescence will appear, cautiously growing into a raging inferno, where hormones will run fervently!"_

_Lee seemed fascinated by this piece of knowledge. Neji and Tenten stared at the green clad teacher, wondering if this was a good idea at all._

_Gai continued with his wonderful speech. _

"_Of course, the stages are different for both sexes! The female begins to sense development in their body parts, the male experiencing a spurt of growth everywhere! If you know what I mean!" he winked to his students in his Gai-like fashion._

_At this, Tenten and Neji's mouths dropped to the floor. Well, Tenten's practically did. Neji regained his composure and leaned against the tree in a more comfortable position. Lee was listening intently, nodding all the way as Gai continued._

"..._the females will get their first monthly visitor! The males will become manlier than ever before! And let's not forget the most distinguishable trait of being a teenager...ACNE!"_

_Tenten and Neji sweatdropped, faces burning brightly as Gai told them more about the excitement of being a teenager._

'_Well...we asked for it...' Tenten thought._

_Lee suddenly raised his hand. "Gai-sensei! I have a question!" he asked._

"_Yes my little Lee! What is it?" _

"_Earlier you told us that hormones will run...Gai-sensei, can you explain what hormones are?" Lee asked, a curious look on his face._

_A vein popped out of Neji's forehead. He shut his eyes tightly. 'Stupid Lee. I hope Gai doesn't get into...' his thought process was interrupted as Gai started to yell out his answer to Lee's question, the topic that Neji had been dreading since he began._

"_Well, once all of those changes have been encountered, males and females will start to see each other in a new light! The female, overcome by a rage of passion, develops a fixation on the male of their choice! The male, usually overconfident, flirts with other ladies, completely oblivious to the female that is infatuated with him! If they end up finding each other..."_

_Tenten blushed hard as she scooted a little away from Neji. Both of them refused to look at Gai anymore, as his words kept coming. They stared at the ground in front of them, and Tenten felt light headed as he started talking about "reproducing a new generation of youth!". _

_Even Lee felt a bit sick. But he still continued to listen, not wanting to miss a single word that was coming out of his idol's mouth._

'_No...this was definitely not a good idea after all,' Tenten thought as she winced at Gai's descriptiveness about the current subject, all in his cheerful voice._

_Gai, meanwhile, was enjoying himself thoroughly. He was happy that his students had gone up to him, of all people, and asked. So he decided to not miss a single fact, and explained everything in excruciating detail. 'Just for my students!' he thought._

_He was still talking about the wonders of new life being born onto the earth as Neji suddenly...fainted._

"_Neji-san, are you ok?" Gai asked the unconscious boy, worriedly. Tenten kneeled next to Neji, lightly patting his cheeks (on his face, of course!)._

"_Neji-san, I thought you were strong!" Lee cried out._

"_Now now Lee, Neji may be strong on the outside, but inside, he is just like that pink haired girl you like so much! Think of it as comparing the pink haired girl's strength to Neji's mental state!" Gai said, smacking Lee on his back like he was an old chum._

_Lee had to think about Gai's words for a while before he realized that his sensei was putting down Sakura. He looked up at Gai with a semi-angry face._

"_Gai—,"_

"_Sensei," Tenten said out of the blue, "I think he's coming to—"_

_Neji gasped as he came back into consciousness, saying, "My flames of youth will never burn out!"_

_He then noticed that he said that out loud. His team merely stared at him._

_Finally, Gai broke the silence and pumped a fist in the air._

"_That's the spirit, Neji!!"_

_**END FLASHBACK: Present**_

Kurenai and Asuma sweatdropped after hearing Gai's story. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him.

"Now that was an interesting story," Asuma said.

"Yes, it certainly was. Now if you'll excuse us, we have our students to attend to," Kurenai said as she jumped ninja style into the trees. 'I knew better than to ask him. I'll never listen to those two again,' she thought, referring to Kakashi and Asuma.

Kakashi waved to Gai. "Then we'll be going too. Thanks Gai," he said as he went after Kurenai.

Asuma nodded to Gai then prepared to take off.

Gai suddenly had a revelation.

"Wait, Asuma!" Gai said, stopping him.

"What is it?" Asuma asked.

"Have you stopped smoking? I knew you could do it!" Gai said, patting Asuma enthusiastically on the shoulder.

Asuma said nothing as he jumped into the trees, wanting to get far away from Gai as soon as possible. He had been reminded of his favorite pastime.

'Smoking...how I miss you...'

-::-::-::-

**AN:** There goes Gai's chapter! I must say that was pretty fun to write. Just imagining what Gai would say to his students was fun I wanted to put more Neji in it, but I couldn't find anyplace that he could have fit! So I just made him faint. Yeah, sure, easy way out. Neji was just a bit OOC, but he DID just listen to that horrendous speech of Gai's. Cut the guy some slack! And Gai's comment about Sakura...even though I like Sakura, I couldn't resist adding it in there, just to show how unstable Neji's mind was at the moment...

This is a day after the last chapter, by the way. Yep, Asuma's gone two days without smoking already! Give him a hand, everyone!

I tried to keep it as PG 13 as possible...but if for some reason you guys think it should be a higher rating, I will go to PG if it needs to be. But 13 year olds should already know about this stuff anyway.

Next chapter, we'll be revisiting Team 7! How's Sakura doing? What about Sasuke's voice? And Naruto, not having ramen in two days...is he still trying to beat Sasuke at his maturity? And now that Kakashi's talked to Gai, will he give them some advice?

As always, reviews are appreciated! Thanks for reading.

Kawaii Yoshi


	5. Team 7: Chocolate and Salt Water

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

**My Life as a Teenage Shinobi**

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. Went the steady beating of Naruto's fist on Sakura's front door.

KNOCK. "Sakura-chan!"

KNOCK. "Sakura-chan!"

KNOCK. "Sakura-chan!"

Inside, Sakura was lying comfortably on her bed awake, wincing every time Naruto pounded on her door.

'Maybe if I ignore him, he'll just go away,' she decided. Fortunately, her parents were off having lunch with friends, so they wouldn't be here to answer the door. She had decided to stay home and relax for once.

KNOCK. "Sakura-chan!"

Sakura started to clench her fist. "He's still here? It's been about ten minutes now! I'm surprised my neighbors haven't chased him away yet!"

KNOCK. "Sakura-chan!! Can I talk to you?!"

Sakura's head started to hurt.

KNOCK.

Frustration started to build up inside her.

KNOCK.

She couldn't take it anymore.

KNOCK.

She got up from her bed and practically broke her window as she threw it open. She looked down to the first floor at the blonde head that stood in front of her doorstep.

"DAMMIT NARUTO! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!" Sakura yelled. Apparently Inner Sakura broke free.

"Aha! I knew you were here!" Naruto said with a cheesy grin.

"NARUTO, JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT!" Sakura yelled again.

"Well, I was wondering about this maturity thing…" he said before he was interrupted.

"Hey, hey!! SOME people are TRYING to get some sleep over here!!" a voice said from the house across from the Harunos'. Kiba had popped his head out the window, clad in his doggy pajamas. Yes, Kiba and Sakura are neighbors!

Sakura glared at him from her house. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! YOU'RE THE ONLY PERSON ASLEEP AT THIS HOUR!" she screamed, angry that she had been interrupted.

"Whatever! It's too early in the morning for this!!" Kiba yelled back. The family dogs started barking after hearing the noise.

"You IDIOT! It's one o'clock in the afternoon!" Sakura yelled back across the street, hitting a stunned Kiba.

"What?! One o'clock!! Akamaru!! Why didn't you wake me up! Now I'm late for training!" he said, his voice being muffled as he went back inside and shut the window. Not that anyone cared about him being late for training, as it ended hours ago.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto spoke up again to the kunoichi on the second floor, who was still glaring at Kiba's window.

Meanwhile, the dogs were still barking loudly in Kiba's yard. People walking down the street started to stare and whisper to each other.

"Sakura-chan! Can you hear me?" Naruto yelled up.

'This noise…all this noise…why can't I get any peace and quiet for one day…why, why, why??' Sakura thought, tears starting to leak out of her eyes.

"Why?!"

"Why what, Sakura-chan? Hey, are you crying? What happened?" Naruto asked as one of her tears fell on his face.

Suddenly, all hell broke loose.

"Why…Why…WHY WON'T YOU SHUT UP?!" she screamed down at him. She looked at the direction of Kiba's house, where dogs were still howling, and neighbors were still gathering. "Why won't those stupid DOGS shut up! Why won't those PEOPLE shut up?? Why won't the damn WORLD shut up?!"

"Hey, Sakura, Naruto," a new voice said.

"SHUT UP!!" Sakura yelled at the person.

Naruto jumped back, startled. Sakura's yelling didn't seem to have any affect on the other person at all.

"Hmph. Fine. But Kakashi wants us to meet him in an hour at the bridge. He told us not to be late but knowing him…" Sasuke sighed, mumbling the last part.

Sakura gasped and immediately jumped out from her window, landing on her feet. Which would have been scary for most people, but as Sakura was a ninja, she could do whatever the heck she wants to. So there.

She ran towards Sasuke, saying, "Wait, Sasuke-kun, I didn't know it was you! Please, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Tears once again sprung from her eyes.

Naruto just stared at her. "Um, Sakura-chan? Is there something…wrong?"

Sakura just continued to grovel at Sasuke's feet, begging for forgiveness. Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sakura-chan? Did something happen to you? I mean, you're all moody today and I was just wondering…" Naruto asked yet another question. And was smashed against Sakura's front porch.

"Naruto…didn't…I…tell…you…to…shut…up?!" she fumed after kicking him.

And abruptly turned back to Sasuke, eyes wide.

"Sasuke-kun, your voice…you sound different!" she said.

"Yes. My voice has finally stopped with that ridiculous cracking," Sasuke said, crossing his arms. He then realized that it was his chance to get away. So he did. "Don't forget to meet at the bridge in an hour," he said in his sexy new voice as he left. Sakura practically swooned. Even the dogs stopped barking at the sound of his beautiful voice.

* * *

Naruto sighed as him and his team waited for Kakashi. He rubbed the still growing bump on the back of his head. Somehow, he had managed to get hit on the exact same spot every day since the whole maturity thing started. 

His stomach also growled with hunger. No, he hasn't eaten ramen yet for two days. He did manage to get by with toast and a few pieces of chicken Iruka had given him after Naruto told his former sensei about the problem.

* * *

_"Hey, hey, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto skipped happily into Iruka's classroom. Unfortunately, Iruka was in the middle of a lesson. The whole class stared at the weird looking ninja with the orange jacket, but was secretly relieved, as Iruka was just about to give them a test on the essentials of stealth during missions._

_"Naruto, can't you see that I'm in the middle of class?" Iruka said, looking a tad irritated. His students started to whisper like good little students did whenever someone interrupted their class._

_"Yeah, but Iruka-sensei, I'm trying to be more mature than the bastard Sasuke and Sakura-chan told me I couldn't eat ramen only once a week so Iruka-sensei what should I do, you can't treat me to ramen anymore and I can't live without ramen and this has been going on for a day now and I don't know what to do!!" Naruto said, all in one breath. Iruka inhaled deeply, as someone would do after they heard a person talk in a long, run on sentence such as that one._

_Iruka sighed. "Naruto you do need to start eating other foods than ramen." _

_He turned to his class. "Stay here and listen to anything Naruto tells you…actually no, don't listen to anything he says or else you fail this class. I'll be right back. Naruto, don't do anything I wouldn't do, and for the love of all things good, don't teach them how to do that idiotic jutsu of yours," Iruka told him. And he left._

_"Wait, Iruka-sensei! Which jutsu…" Naruto called out, but Iruka was already gone. Naruto glared at the door in his face, and turned to Iruka's students, who all stopped talking and eyed him curiously. He gave them one of his frowns. You know, the one where his eyes are closed and he looks annoyed with some person but we don't know if he can see that person or not because his eyes are closed._

_Naruto crossed his arms and suddenly gave the students a huge grin, eyes still closed in its Naruto-like fashion. "Okay, everyone! I'm your teacher until Iruka-sensei gets back, so everyone has to listen to me and pay attention to what I say!" he said enthusiastically._

_A student stood up. "But Naruto-san, Iruka-sensei told us not to listen to you or we fail, so why should we?" he asked. The class nodded the ir agreement._

_"Yeah, there's no reason to fail just because he tells us to listen," another student said._

_"Shut up! Iruka-sensei was lying! Trust me, I know him, he wouldn't fail the class just because you are all talking to me!" Naruto said, angrily._

_"Really, Naruto? Then in that case, you all fail," Iruka said to his class, walking in with two paper bags. _

_Sure enough, the class started arguing and complaining and whining and crying and being like babies for five minutes until Iruka said, "Quiet down! I was just kidding."_

_"Naruto," he said handing Naruto the bags, "Here. These should keep you going for at least three days. Now go and get out of my class!" Iruka ushered him out. _

_"Thanks, sensei!" Naruto said happily as he skipped out of the room, much like he did when he entered._

_Iruka sighed and turned back to his class. "That Naruto…_

_Okay, class! How about that test…" Iruka trailed off as he noticed his students glaring at him, obviously still ticked off at his little joke earlier. _

_He sighed again. "Fine. Let's have the test some other day then."_

_He turned and sat down on his chair, giving out one final sigh. "Damn that Naruto…no. It's my fault for being too soft on the kid. He's…he's like a SON TO ME!" Iruka yelled out, tears coming out of his eyes. He noticed about thirty pairs of eyes staring at him like he was insane._

_"What, did you want to have that test?"_

* * *

"Good afternoon, everyone!" the familiar voice of Team 7's sensei came to their ears. 

"You're late!" Naruto said, irritated.

Sakura sighed, obviously not in the mood. "Sensei, it's three o'clock. Didn't you tell Sasuke-kun that you'd be here by two?"

"Yes my sweet little cherry blossom, but I dropped by the store to get something for all of you!" Kakashi said, holding up a bag. Once again, he was smiling but you couldn't see it because of that mask of his. Oh, how annoying that silly thing is!

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "You're not lying?"

"Nope!" Kakashi said, opening the bag. His students leaned a bit closer, wondering what Kakashi had bought just for them.

"Okay! This is for Sakura-chan!" he said, reaching in and taking out a bar of chocolate. Sakura looked confused as she took it.

"Um, sensei? Chocolate?" she asked, staring at the bar as if Kakashi had poisoned it.

"Sasuke-kun, here's yours! Careful, it's a bit warm," Kakashi reached in and took out a flask, and tossed it to Sasuke, who caught it deftly.

Sasuke looked carefully over the container. "Hey, I'm not old enough to drink, just so you know," he said, still not fully knowing what its contents were.

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow. "Ah, your voice has stopped cracking. Hm…oh well, you can still use it," he said, starting to dig in the paper bag.

"Naruto, here's yours," he said, tossing Naruto a book.

Naruto looked surprised at getting, of all things, a book. Secretly, he wanted the chocolate bar Sakura had gotten.

"Sensei, a book? What…" he stopped as he got a better look at the book. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

Sakura looked over his shoulder. And basically had the same reaction as Naruto. "Kakashi-sensei! What's the meaning of giving Naruto this…this…thing?!" she exclaimed.

"It's what it looks like. Naruto you're going to have to learn about these things when you mature anyway. It's the way of life," he said, smiling slightly.

"Sakura, when it hurts, eat the chocolate. And Sasuke…gargle. Well my students, as your teacher I hope you take my advice. Ja!" he waved slightly and jumped off, leaving the three bewildered students.

Sasuke opened the flask and tasted the liquid. And sort of made a face. Because you know, Sasuke doesn't make faces…

"It's…salty…salt water," he said. "Hmph. I'm leaving. Later." And so he left.

"Naruto…you aren't really thinking of…reading that…are you?" Sakura said, hiding her bar of chocolate in her pocket.

"Kakashi-sensei…told me that I would know this when I'm mature…so if I read it and know about it now, I'll be mature even sooner, right?" Naruto said, nodding at his own logic.

"Naruto…as long as you don't become like that pervert sannin you used to train with a while ago…then do whatever you want. Just don't let me catch you reading that, you hear me? There's already more than enough people that read that thing in my presence!" Sakura said.

"But only Kakashi-sensei…" 

"You heard me! More than enough! See you later, Naruto, I'm heading home," Sakura said, walking away from the bridge.

Sighing, Naruto sat down on the bridge and started reading his new book.

* * *

**AN:** Okay okay here it is. Sorry for not getting it out sooner! It took me a lot longer to wri te than the other chapters actually, because I started school this week! Yep, so early. 

Why don't my colons and lines work anymore? Did disable those too? Well, I decided just to use those weird lines to seperate things...

Sakura's moodiness, Sasuke's sexy voice, Naruto…still Naruto…Kakashi actually being helpful? Hm…oh and everyone should know what Naruto's gift was. It's so painfully obvious that even a person who's seen one episode of Naruto would understand. Well maybe more than one…

The chocolate is known to help cramps during that time of the month. And the gargling warm salt water is a remedy my family uses when your voice is hoarse or when it hurts or something. Other people might use it too. So I just added it in here. Kakashi being overly cheerful and using nicknames...I just couldn't help myself. He DOES tease them in the anime once in a while, doesn't he?

Kiba was also shortly featured in the beginning: as a teen myself, I always want to sleep in (but I never do!). So I just made Kiba sleep in and accidentally miss training. What will Team 8 say about that? Unfortunately, that's in the chapter after the next one. Hehe.

Next chapter: Team 10 revisited. What WAS Chouji doing? How is Shikamaru's growth spurt going? What about Ino's blemish? And…Ino's bet with Asuma? How's THAT going?

Once again, thanks a whole bunch for reading. Don't forget to review if you have the time to =)

Kawaii Yoshi


	6. Team 10: Clumsiness and Gringles

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

**My Life as a Teenage Shinobi**

"So Asuma-sensei, how's that bet of ours going?" Ino asked the jounin as she walked towards their meeting spot.

Asuma was sitting in a fetal position, shaking slightly. He suddenly stood up when he heard her voice. "O-oh…Ino…it's…going great…just…great…" he replied, smiling weakly.

"Um, Ino, why are you wearing that mask that strangely resembles Kakashi's on your face?" he asked. And it was true. Ino's face was half covered with that stupid idiotic black mask so that no one could see her face. And her forehead protector was still on her forehead. She might as well have just put it down over one of her eyes so she could be Kakashi's fake sister. Or cousin.

"Ah, I asked Kakashi if he had an extra one. They just looked…so…comfortable I just had to try it!" she said, trying to act excited.

"Tch. Yeah right, Ino."

She turned to find a very lanky Shikamaru a few feet away. "What do YOU know? It IS comfortable!" she said, stalking towards him angrily.

And tripped flat on her face over his feet.

"Damnit Shikamaru, why do your feet have to be so damn big?" Ino asked, face on the cement. Luckily she was wearing the mask so no ugly scratches would go on Ino's "flawless" face.

"Why are you asking me? Ask them yourself," he replied, looking down at Ino, who was right next to his feet.

She got up and brushed her clothes off. "Shut up! I'm surprised you don't trip over them yourself!"

"Actually Ino, if you look at it by law of physics, I walk way too slow to trip over my feet. It's just too troublesome to walk any faster…"

"Argh! Shikamaru you piss me off sometimes with your smart alec comments, do you know that?"

"Now, now, both of you. We'd better get to training now before the day is wasted!" Asuma said. Although he only wanted to start training to get his mind off of smoking.

"What about Chouji?" Ino asked him.

"Mr. Akimichi called me this morning and told me Chouji was grounded for a week," Asuma told the two.

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Chouji? The goody-goody? Grounded? What for?"

"Hmph. It's not like he TOLD me. Come on, let's go," Asuma said impatiently, jumping off.

"Hey Shikamaru, do you know why Chouji's grounded?" Ino asked.

"Ino, he's been grounded. I haven't talked to him in two days. How should I know?" Shikamaru replied before jumping off after Asuma.

* * *

Meanwhile, a very bored Chouji was sitting alone in his room, stomach growling.

"Man, I wish dad didn't limit my snacks to five bags of chips a day! I'm starved…" he complained to himself. He was also confined to his room for a whole week except to use the bathroom, but that didn't bother him at all. For crying out loud, his dad had even taken his SECRET STASH!

"Food…maybe…this whole thing wasn't worth it…" he sighed as he remembered the event two days ago.

* * *

_"Hey Chouji, my man!__ Have you got 'em?" a boy asked Chouji as he saw him walking in the same alleyway as before. _

_Chouji__ nodded happily. "Yeah, it was easy! Ino did all the work for me, by betting Asuma-sensei not to smoke for a week. He emptied out all his pockets right there and I grabbed one before taking off," Chouji said, with a large grin on his face._

_"What about you guys? Do you have your end of the deal?" the chubby boy asked the two._

_The second boy took off his backpack and rummaged through it. "Yep, got it right here," he said, taking out a can of…Gringles?_

_'Sweet!__ Imported chips from the Hidden Stone…this is going to be so great!' Chouji thought, mouth already watering._

_"Well? Where is it?" the first boy asked. Chouji reached in his pockets and took out…_

_A pack of Asuma's cigarettes.__ Ooh, bad Chouji!!_

_He handed it to the to boys and they handed him the Gringles. Chouji eagerly opened it up. And…got angry._

_"HEY! It's only half full! You guys ripped me off!!" he yelled at them._

_"Haha!__ Sucker! That's what you get for being a fat ass!" the second boy said, laughing and jumping off with the first boy._

_Chouji__ turned red, fire burning in his eyes. "What…what…did…you call…ME???" he screamed. After making sure he pocketed the Gringles (he didn't want the half can to go to waste!), he chased after the boys and caught up with them easily, because…well, they weren't ninjas. They were just a couple of losers who thought a ninja like Chouji was a slowpoke. But nope! No matter what the appearance of a ninja, they are still fast!_

_Chouji__ started to beat the heck out of them, not even bothering to use his "soldier pills" which are really just a name for those pills that make you fat and strong and fast._

_Finally, when he was done with them, he stood over them triumphantly. He reached in their pockets until he found the pack of cigarettes._

_"You won't need these anymore. I'm taking them back…" "To Asuma-sensei" was what he was going to say…_

_But lo and behold! Akimichi Chomaru!_

_"Chouji!__ What in the name of Konoha…!" his father said._

_Chouji__ turned around. "Dad! What…"_

_"Son!__ I can't believe you…beating up these two poor boys then taking cigarettes from them! What the hell were you going to do with those cigarettes, Chouji?" Chomaru asked sternly._

_"No, you don't understand! They were…" Chouji started but was quickly interrupted by his father._

_"No, son!__ No excuses! This is a very serious matter, just look…look at what you're holding in your hand!" Chomaru pointed at the small box in Chouji's hands._

_Chouji__ stared at the box in his hands and started to protest._

_But as you all know, possession is nine tenths of the law. And in this case, the law won. Poor Chouji._

* * *

And so, Chouji had been grounded for a week.

And unfortunately, the half can of Gringles only lasted five minutes.

"Oh well, they were delicious while they lasted…" Chouji said to himself.

* * *

**AN**: Okay, shorter chapter. It was quicker to write than the last one, though.

So Asuma's still off those packs! How long will he last? Ino, ever so desperate, even asks to borrow one of Kakashi's masks? Shikamaru's feet and arms are growing! Yikes! Ah, Chouji making deals with some losers he doesn't even know…hm…Gringles…

Yes, I sort of got the Gringles thing from Whose Line is it Anyway. Man, hilarious show right there.

Some replies to some reviews:

**wun-liddo-babi ...**Thank you for that hilarious review. I seriously didn't know that people actually thought about what would happen if the chocolate melted…

**Sweet Anime Fan: **So true! If you noticed, I used the word flawless in quotes in this chapter to describe Ino's face. Your review was the inspiration for that. lol

**duochang97:** Yes, Yoshi is in Super Mario Bros. He's a dinosaur, though, not a turtle. =) Yes, why do guys always have to be so immature?...okay maybe I shouldn't be talking, as I'm still in sophomore year of high school and they're all still going through that "phase", I guess. As for what you said about Naruto's Harem Jutsu, and the way he looked at those mags (episode 2 with Konohamaru, right?), I was just guessing he was being the typical little pre-teen boy and was curious about them mags. So being the naughty little boy he was, he snuck a look at them every so often, and as Konohamaru wanted to be just like him, he let Konohamaru have a little peek too. Although now, where we are in the anime (and definitely manga, for you manga readers), Naruto seemed to have matured so much more, and it seems unlikely that he would read those types of things. He'd probably rather go training or something. But the twist in this story is…he hasn't matured enough! So Kakashi decided to get him back in the game and gave him that book of his. With that comment, I'm saying again, that this is an AU fic. Nothing that's happening right now in the manga has happened at all, but the chuunin exam did happen because Shikamaru is a chuunin in this fic. As for the rating (which I forgot to talk about last chapter), I'm keeping it PG-13. If 13 year olds STILL don't know about this stuff, then it's better late than never, right?

**FINALLY**, to end this amazingly long author's note, I'll have you guys vote for the next chapter! (Hm, I hope it goes better than I think it will…)

Will the next chapter be:

1...Team 8's second chapter 

Or…

2...A semi-short chapter about where Kakashi got his home remedies from 

**In your review, please either say 1 or 2.** Got it? Good.

Either way, both chapters will still make it to the actual story. I just want to know which one would be better to put up first.

Thanks for reading! Please give me a review and…give me a number in that review too. =)

Speaking of reviews, **I have hit 50**! Actually, as I'm typing this right now, I'm at 58. Hehe. Thank you all so much for reviewing and enjoying my story. I'm enjoying writing it for you guys as well.

Kawaii Yoshi


	7. Team 8: Hookey and Dreams

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

**My Life as a Teenage Shinobi**

"Shino, where's Kiba? And Hinata?" Kurenai asked the usually silent boy. She had just gotten to their training spot in that clearing in the forest and Shino was the only one there. Which was unusual, because being the responsible students they are, Team 8 is always early for training. So early, in fact, that they get there at 8 am when Kurenai tells them 9. What they do there for an hour is all up to your imagination.

But…

"They're not here yet," Shino answered. The bugs that resided within him laughed at him, saying that his last statement was SO obvious.

'Shut up,' he told them. Oh, but they just kept on laughing and crawling. They made a crack about the goatee that he was also growing.

'Well it's not like YOU guys grow any facial hair. It is a sign of maturity and adulthood,' he argued. But his bugs kept talking back. It seemed that they knew every one of Shino's little quirks. As they should, because they…live in him.

Kurenai, meanwhile, was still talking with him. She scratched her head. "…I wonder where they could be?"

She looked at her student and noticed he wasn't listening.

"Shino?...Shino?"

* * *

As we all know where Kiba is, we'll just see what Hinata is up to, shall we?

"Hinata-neesan, what are you still doing in bed? Daddy's going to be really angry if he finds out you're not at training yet," Hanabi said, poking the slight bulge under the covers.

"Quiet, Hanabi-chan, please don't tell daddy. I j-just…I don't feel like…training today…" Hinata squeaked. No, it wasn't the same squeak as Sasuke's.

"Ah, but you're the next heir to the clan right? So shouldn't you be training everyday and try to be stronger than even your younger sister?" Hanabi challenged. She knew her sister was a let down to the whole family and she wasn't going to hide it. What a brat.

"…"

"Fine, fine," Hanabi said after a while.

"Be that way. But don't come crying to me when daddy makes me heir of the Hyuuga clan and not YOU." And she happily pranced off somewhere else. Good riddance.

Hinata sighed.

'No, it's not like that at all. I want to get stronger. I want to…but…I…I…I've embarrassed myself in front of Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, and Kurenai-sensei. I don't…want that to happen again. And…what if I run across…across…Naruto-kun?' she sighed again, but this time a sigh that would have made the Sasuke fan club proud.

'Naruto-kun…Naruto-kun…Naruto-kun…'

And she dropped off to sleep, with "Naruto-kun" still in her mind.

* * *

"Naruto-kun…Naruto-kun…Naruto-kun…" Hinata mumbled.

"Hm? What is it, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata suddenly opened her eyes and sat up.

"Huh…what…?" she asked, confused. She was sitting on the bridge where Team 7 usually met. Naruto was sitting next to her, and it seemed like he had been watching her for quite some time. Naruto smiled at her with his goofy grin and Hinata…well, blushed.

"Hey, Hinata-chan."

Hinata blushed even harder after hearing him give her name the affectionate suffix we all know and love.

"Y-y…yes, N-Naruto…k-kun…" Hinata stammered, looking at the bridge floor in front of her.

Naruto put his hands behind his head, still grinning at Hinata. "When did you get boobs?"

Hinata practically fainted. She was sure her face was turning purple at the moment. My, how embarrassing for her.

"Wh…what? Uh...um…" She found it hard to say even one word.

"Well see, I look at you all the time and I noticed the last time I saw you that they were there," Naruto said…looking at her.

"Wha…what…y-you…l-look…at me…N-Naruto-kun…I look…I mean…um…at y-you…t…too…" Hinata said, shyly. And still purple in the face.

"Really? Wow that's so cool! We look at each other all the time and we don't even notice! Isn't that a coincidence or something?" Naruto said in an excited voice. Excited and still, unfortunately for Hinata, oblivious.

"O-oh…y-yes…coin…coincidence…" Hinata started twiddling her fingers.

Naruto suddenly grabbed her hand. Hinata was forced to look into his eyes. Not that she wouldn't have, anyway.

"Hinata-chan," Naruto said quietly. Hinata gazed dreamily into his eyes.

"Y-yes…Naruto-kun…?" she whispered as he leaned in closer.

She could have sworn she was shaking all over.

"I…

I…

I WANT YOU TO GET UP RIGHT NOW!" he yelled in her face.

"What? Naruto…kun?" she asked, almost getting a heart attack from the sudden change in volume.

"GET UP! NOW!"

* * *

Hinata was shaking all over. 'What? Why is it so dark? Where is Naruto-kun?' she thought.

'No…it can't be…a…dream?'

She opened her eyes. And saw her father shaking her shoulders.

"Hinata, now, may I ask you WHY you aren't at TRAINING?" Hiashi asked her in quiet fury.

"I…I…um…I s-slept…in?" Hinata tried.

Her father shook his head.

"I don't know how you'll be able to watch over our clan like this, Hinata. Honestly, I am very disappointed in you…" Hiashi started lecturing her, occasionally adding in a "Hanabi" this, and "Hanabi" that.

Amidst all of this, Hinata was thinking to herself. 'Why…did it have to be a dream? Why…couldn't I have at least gotten to the good part?'

* * *

Kiba, meanwhile, was off in dreamland himself, dreaming of a certain no pupiled person. And no, it's not Neji.

* * *

**AN:** Another short Team 8 chapter. Probably the shortest chapter in the entire fic. (sigh) I can never get a long chapter for these guys! But the two Team 8 chapters turned out to be my favorites in the whole story so far. 

OKAY so it didn't have much to do with puberty at all. Maybe a little with Hinata's dream, but I COULD have added a WHOLE lot more to it. Well if her father hadn't butted in at the exact wrong time, it would have been naughty Hinata, let me just say…it's always the quiet ones, really! I already mentioned Kiba sleeping in in chapter 5, I believe. And I couldn't resist with Shino and his bugs again.

Next chapter would be Kakashi's side story about his remedies. Yes I thought of combining the chapters at one point. But I didn't know how I would tie it all in with each other. So Kakashi gets his OWN chapter. Because Kakashi is cool like that.

Anyway, we're almost nearing the end of this fic…Hm, I would say maybe 4 or 5 more chapters at least.

Thank you all with your cooperation on the voting. Team 8 seems to be loved by many =) But Kakashi is still so very cool. Heh.

Thanks also for reading. I would still appreciate reviews!

Kawaii Yoshi


	8. Kakashi's Special Chapter: Remedies

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

**My Life as a Teenage Shinobi**

Tsunade stared in disbelief at the jounin in front of her.

"What is it you wanted me to do again?" she asked him, putting her elbows on the desk in front of her and placing her head in the palms of her hands.

"Well, Hokage-sama, it seems that my little students are going through…pu…pu…" he coughed. "They're going through the wondrous time of growing out of their youth into adolescence," he said, recalling Gai's words.

"Mhm, and so?" Tsunade asked impatiently, as if this were a waste of her time. 'It really is a waste of my time, though. Why the hell would he ask the Hokage something like this?' she thought.

Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Since you're the expert on medicine and health, might you have any remedies that would help them get back to their normal selves?"

Tsunade decided to voice what she was thinking. "So why are you asking me, of all people, the Hokage…for home remedies? Are you aware, Kakashi, that I am a very busy person?"

A laugh came from the door of the room. "Yeah right, Tsunade. We all know that you don't take your Hokage business seriously when you don't have to. Admit it!"

The fifth looked irritated at the man standing at her door. "Shut up, Jiraiya. No one asked you! And it does so happen that I DO take being Hokage seriously. I'm in charge of many people's lives, you know!" she argued.

"Hah, sure. I guess you can't take charge of your own age though, can you?" Jiraiya walked in the room.

"You idiot! You're a month older than me! What the hell are you talking about age for?!" she yelled, suddenly getting up from the chair.

Jiraiya started to dance around. "Ooh, I think someone's hitting menopause!"

A vein popped out of Tsunade's head.

"Oh, careful Tsunade-sama, we don't want you to overexert yourself at your age!" Jiraiya said, bouncing around the room.

Bad move, Jiraiya.

Tsunade jumped over the desk and tackled the dancing Jiraiya to the ground. She sat on top of him, holding on to his shirt, giving him a menacing glare.

Jiraiya smiled at her. "Ah, I would have killed for this position thirty years ago."

"SHUT UP!!" Tsunade threw him across the room. He crashed into a wall and stayed there. For a long while.

Kakashi didn't seem to be fazed by any of this. He was still sitting comfortably in his chair. During the ruckus, he had pulled out his latest copy of his favorite book.

Kakashi giggled slightly. "Hey Jiraiya, when's the next volume coming out? You left it at a very suggestive scene," he said. He looked at the half conscious man, who was still recovering from the blow with the wall.

Tsunade yanked the book out of his hands and tore it to shreds.

Kakashi looked aghast. "Hey, that was $19.50!"

"What the hell? Jiraiya can give you a free copy! Just don't read that disgusting book in front of my face!" Tsunade said, tossing the remainder of the book into the trash.

The man at the wall groaned slightly. "Mmph…"

"Hm?" Kakashi listened.

"Early December."

* * *

"Anyway," Tsunade said after finally agreeing to help Jiraiya with his bruises, "Kakashi, what exactly are the symptoms your kids are going through?"

"Hm…well Sasuke's voice keeps cracking, and Sakura's been moody AND she's getting stomachaches every so often," he said.

Tsunade nodded for him to keep going. After he didn't say anything, she looked up.

"Is that all? What about Naruto?"

"He hasn't started yet," Kakashi said, smiling slightly.

Tsunade shook her head. "That kid…" she mumbled.

"Well! Seems your kids are going through puberty," she said to Kakashi, who started snickering loudly. Tsunade decided to ignore this and kept talking.

"There's really nothing we can do to speed up the process…especially in Sakura's case…" she added as an afterthought. "But! You CAN however, ease them from their pain and suffering with simple home remedies!"

Kakashi sweatdropped. "But that's what I've been saying…from the beginning…"

Tsunade glared at him. "Do you want them or not?"

Kakashi sighed. "Sure, sure…"

Tsunade stood up and walked to the cabinet on the other side of the room.

"Well luckily for you, I'm a female so I already know plenty about Sakura's problems! Hm…here. Just give this to her and she'll be just fine," Tsunade said, reaching in a drawer full of chocolate bars and taking one out, handing it over to Kakashi. Kakashi stared at the chocolate.

"What does she do with it?" he asked.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "She melts it then rubs it all over her face. What did you think she did?"

"Really? Okay then, I'll be sure to tell her," Kakashi said, grabbing a paper bag from another drawer and putting the chocolate inside. Yep, she's got everything anyone ever needs in these drawers, after all, she IS the Hokage.

"No you idiot, she eats it! Honestly, haven't YOU gone through puberty yet? It sure doesn't seem like it," Tsunade said, rummaging through yet another drawer. Kakashi giggled because…you know.

"Actually, I have, at an early age, I might add…"

**_FLASHBACK: Kakashi at an early age…_**

_"Yo lil' man, what are you still doing in bed? You've got a mission today."_

_Eleven year old Kakashi groggily sat up in his bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He looked up at his former sensei and groaned slightly._

_"Why do I hAve to gEt Up so eArly?" Kakashi asked. He winced at his voice and cleared his throat._

_"Now, Kakashi, don't be like this right now. I've got too much to do today and you'd better be glad I'm doing you a favor by waking you up. Now get up," the blonde haired man said._

_Little Kakashi groaned again, his voice still cracking a little. "Why is mY vOIce lIke thIS? SensEI?" he asked, and cleared his throat again._

_"You must've slept well last night. Go and clean up, I told you, you have a mission! Just because you're eleven doesn't mean you're excused. Hurry!" the Yondaime patted his student on the back as the silver haired boy walked to the bathroom. Unfortunately, he must have patted him a little too hard, as Kakashi fell flat on his stomach._

_"SenSEi! What the hEck was thAt fOR?" _

_The fourth raised an eyebrow at his masked subordinate. "Kakashi, shinobi aren't supposed to trip that easily, especially ones like you, who became a chuunin at age six!" he sighed. "Come on, we don't have all day."_

* * *

_"Hey Hatake, what took ya so long?" one of the jounins said. Kakashi, still a chuunin, had gone on many missions with jounin. He was a child prodigy and was well known all over Konoha._

_"I wOke Up lAte. It hAPpens. C'mOn, LEt's gEt GOing alREAdy," Kakashi said to the three jounin with a bit of difficulty. They stared at him._

_"Whoa! Looks like Hatake's going through puberty!" another jounin said, grinning at the small chuunin._

_"PUberTY?" Kakashi asked. Obviously, he was still a bit naïve, even though he had killed countless people in missions._

_The woman jounin stepped up to the child. "Hey Kakashi, how old are you anyway?" she asked, kneeling down to his height._

_"I'm eLEven. And a hALf!" he said, proudly._

_The three jounins sweatdropped. 'So early?' they all thought._

**_END FLASHBACK: Present_**

"Ah…yes, I remember that day so very clearly," Kakashi sighed as he reminisced.

"All right, all right already, that's enough of that," Tsunade said, holding a flask in her hand.

"Here, pop this in the microwave for a few seconds and give it to Sasuke. Tell him to gargle it and his throat should feel a bit better," she said, half heartedly explaining everything.

"Is that all? Nothing for Naruto?" Kakashi asked, putting the flask in the bag.

"And what in Konoha do you want me to give him? Your dirty books so he'll mature faster?" Tsunade said sarcastically. "Now, get out of my face, I have Hokage business to attend to," she said, walking both him and Jiraiya (who had been unusually quiet the whole time) to the door and shutting it behind him.

"Hm, will that really work?" he asked himself, taking Tsunade's sarcasm seriously.

Jiraiya chose this time to speak up again. "Trust me, Kakashi, it works perfectly! Would you like to borrow a copy?"

* * *

**AN:** Yay, Kakashi's chapter! Heh, I couldn't resist adding a bit of Kakashi's childhood in here. According to a few sources, the 4th fought the Kyuubi when Kakashi was thirteen, therefore, he was still alive when Kakashi was eleven.

HOWEVER, I don't know WHEN Kakashi became ANBU, but I know he became a chuunin by the age of six. If anyone knows…then please tell me so I can fix things =)

Tsunade's birthday I don't know at all. I couldn't find one site with her birthday on it. So for the sake of my fic, I made her a month younger than Jiraiya. Again, if someone knows, tell me so I can fix it!

Next chapter…I haven't decided yet. It will either be another Gai's team chapter, or a random chapter that doesn't focus on any one team individually, but they all interact with each other. Most likely the latter.

I really hate those horizontal lines. They're so ugly, but I've tried everything I could to break the page up, and nothing works. Oh well!

As always, reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Nearing her 100th review,

Kawaii Yoshi


	9. Bugs and More Bugs

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Naruto.

**My Life as a Teenage Shinobi**

Naruto giggled softly as he turned to the next page of his uber-cool new book. He was sitting on the Team 7 bridge cross legged, waiting for his team to show up. Again. Kakashi-sensei had come back five minutes after he had left to say they were meeting again. Right now. Of course, he would have to ditch the book once Sakura got there…but there was nothing to do while he was waiting so…

"Neh heh heh…no wonder Kakashi-sensei reads these books," Naruto said, blushing.

"Oh…Na…Naruto-kun…" a quiet voice came out of nowhere. Jumping in surprise, Naruto quickly shut the naughty book and hid it inside his jacket. He got to his feet, looking annoyed.

"Who is it? Sakura-chan, is that you?" he said, dusting off his pants. He looked at the end of the bridge and saw Hinata standing there…twiddling her fingers.

'Sheesh, I bet her fingers are all worn out from that twiddling. She's always doing that whenever I look at her!' Naruto thought, looking at her with his eyes closed. If that was even possible.

He grinned. "Hey Hinata, what's u….uh…uh?" Naruto stammered, blushing harder than he did when he was reading. Hinata wasn't wearing her jacket. And we all know what that meant.

"Naruto…kun?" Hinata said, confused. She took a step toward him. He took a step back, his finger across his nose.

Hinata looked even more confused. "Naruto-kun? D-do you have a cold?" she asked, worried.

"Ah…ah…no! No, I don't, I'm…fine…" And he fainted. Hinata looked like she had gone into shock. 'Was it me? What did I do? It was my fault…maybe I should have fixed my hair up…or put on some makeup…why, why Naruto-kun?'

"Hey, I'm here again!" Sakura's happy voice filled the bridge. She saw an unconscious Naruto and a scared-to-death Hinata. Her expression darkened immediately.

"Naruto! What did you do to Hinata-san?" Sakura said, stomping over to the boy. She suddenly kicked him on the head, and he flew smack into…

Sasuke, who kicked him right back into…

Kakashi, who unconsciously kicked him into…

Shino, who…wait, Shino?

"Shino-kun? What are you doing here?" Hinata asked him, not even looking at the bug boy as she stared at the blond boy who was drooling at Shino's feet.

"Kurenai-sensei told me to look for you and Kiba. You two did not show up for training this morning. Where were you?" he asked her.

"Oh…I…overslept," Hinata said, a little embarrassed.

'Kiba's going to have that same alibi…' Sakura thought. Suddenly, another thought hit her.

"Whoa, Shino, are you growing a mustache? And a goatee?" After she had gotten a nod out of the bug boy, ANOTHER thought hit her.

"Kakashi-sensei, may I ask what we're doing here…again…ten minutes from when we came here last?" she asked curiously. And then ONE MORE thought hit her. She was getting pretty beat up with thoughts today, now was she?

"Kakashi-sensei, you're actually…on time…?!" she said, horror-struck.

Kakashi grinned. "Yep! I forgot to tell you three that we have a mission this afternoon!"

Naruto suddenly became conscious at the word "mission". He sat up.

"Mission? What KIND of mission?" Naruto asked, foaming at the mouth. Sakura looked at him as if he were the most disgusting thing on earth.

"It's a D rank," Kakashi said, to the dismay of two of his students.

Sasuke grunted. "D rank missions are useless," he said in his pretty-boy voice.

Kakashi sighed. "Now now, Sasuke, don't forget, if you do enough missions, you won't even have to take the chuunin exam a second time! You'll just go straight to being a chuunin without having the fear that you'll fail like last time!"

Sasuke glared at him. "Hmph."

"Alright! I'll see you at the Hokage's office in two hours. Later!" Kakashi said, jumping off.

Sasuke glared at the spot where Kakashi was.

Meanwhile, Shino shuddered. The bugs inside of him all sighed at once when they had heard Sasuke's voice. 'What…the…quit it!' he thought to them.

But his bugs protested, and protested, and finally, outside of his own will, the bugs all left Shino's body at once and started to chase after Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes opened wide, and he inwardly gagged as he ran away. 'Ew, ew, EW!' he thought, running as fast as he could.

Sakura screamed bloody murder. Naruto wasn't the most disgusting thing on earth after all.

"Don't hurt them!" yelled Shino after Sasuke's retreating form. After all, they WERE his weapons.

-

Ino hummed as she watered her flowers at the Yamanaka flower shop. She pulled up her Kakashi mask, which was slipping down. 'I guess I should have asked for a smaller size,' she thought.

"Good afternoon Yamanaka-san!" a gallant voice entered the shop. Ino looked up.

"Oh, hi Lee. Flowers for Sakura?" she asked, knowing the daily routine. Which had turned weekly in recent days because he's been training his butt off.

Lee nodded, winking at her. He walked to a corner of the shop, not even noticing that she was wearing a black mask on her face.

Ino smiled. "So what kind would you like today?" she asked, following him, just glad she would sell something today. Business at a flower shop isn't that great…especially in a ninja village. Ino sighed. She needed to spend more time out there training, looking good for you-know-who, rather than be here working at her family's flower shop all the time. She started to daydream about all the wonderful missions she and Sasuke would go on, just the two of them…hand in hand…

She sighed once more.

"How about a dai…mask?!" Lee said, dropping the daisy he was holding. Apparently, he had finally noticed she was wearing it.

"Sorry…we're all out…" Ino said, absentmindedly. Lee just pointed to her face and stared, his mouth in the shape of a small "o". Ino ignored him and picked up the daisy on the floor, still daydreaming. She petted it, and put it back in the vase, with the other daisies.

"Yes, my wonderful little daisies, you will grow up to be nice and strong, and pretty, just like me," she said to the flowers. Lee just kept staring and pointing. She sighed and looked out the window. "If only he would notice how nice and strong, and pretty I am…without these awful things on my face…"

She suddenly saw the object of her affection running outside the window. Ino gasped and snapped out of her reverie. She ran and poked her head out the door.

"SASUKE-KUN!" she yelled. And heard a rumbling. She looked the other way and saw…trillions of bugs.

She screamed bloody murder…and fainted.

Lee, who had stopped pointing and staring, ran to her and picked her up gently. "Yamanaka-san? Yamanaka-san?" he said, fanning her face with…his hands. Not that any air got to her face, as the mask still covered it. Ino moaned slightly and opened her eyes slowly.

To see a pair of fuzzy eyebrows staring down at her.

She fainted. Again.

-

"Yo, Neji."

"Hey, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru walked lazily to the Hyuuga.

"Hokage-sama wants us to be in charge of another mission. B rank. Up to it?" Shikamaru said, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Hm." Neji took a glance sideways to see Shikamaru's…neck? He looked up.

"Shikamaru, when the hell did you become this tall?" Neji asked.

Shikamaru looked annoyed.

"Neji, I'm slouching. This isn't tall at all. When I slouch, my height drops a few inches. See?" Shikamaru stood up straight to prove his point.

Neji looked away. "Shikamaru. I prefer it when you slouch."

"Hey Neji, Shikamaru!" a girl's voice reached their ears.

"Tenten." Neji said in greeting. Shikamaru just nodded.

"Neji, you aren't training today?" she asked. The Hyuuga shook his head slightly.

"Maybe later," he said. "Want to train with me?"

Tenten smiled and nodded. "Sure! How about in an hour at the usual spot?"

Neji nodded. Tenten nodded back and she jumped off.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows at the small scene he had just witnessed. 'Are they…'

"So what is the mission? When is it going to be?" Neji asked as it nothing at all had happened.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru was thinking. Should he ask? But asking about things wasn't his thing. Being curious about something is way too troublesome. But as his teammate, and friend, he should know about these little things. But knowing about little things…is way too troublesome. Shikamaru sighed. And performed a very precise calculation in his head that would give him the right answer. If it's even possible to calculate things like curiosity in your head. He finally decided.

"Neji, are you and Tenten…" Shikamaru started.

But was cut off by Sasuke, who ran into him. They tumbled into a heap on the floor.

"Sa…Sasuke?" Shikamaru said, looking at the boy who crashed into him. He sat up slowly, but Sasuke practically flew up as he began to ran away again.

"What the…" Shikamaru was cut off once again as he saw the wave of bugs. His eyes widened, and he moved faster than he's ever moved, away from the streets.

Neji screamed bloody murder as the bugs dashed past him.

-

Chouji was still locked up in his room, staring silently out the window. He had tried to explain to his father again and again, but it seemed to make Chomaru angrier and angrier.

So he was still stuck there. He sighed, trying to ignore the rumbling in his stomach. He was trying so hard to ignore it that he didn't notice Kiba getting run over by Sasuke and a bunch of bugs outside of his window.

-

"WHAT THE HELL SASUKE?!" Kiba said after the bugs were gone. Akamaru whined and hid inside Kiba's jacket.

"It's alright Akamaru. You already have fleas anyway so a few more bugs won't hurt now will they?" Kiba grinned. Akamaru growled.

"Bark!" the dog said.

"What?! What do you MEAN I don't take care of you?! I carry you with me all the time!" Kiba shouted at his dog.

"Bark bark!" Akamaru said back.

"I don't take good enough care of you AND I don't let you do anything fun? Come on! I brought you to the "Bark-A-Dog Convention" a few months ago! Don't TELL me that wasn't good enough little mister!"

"Bark bark ruff!" Akamaru barked.

"Now I don't let you go out with your friends enough? Come ON Akamaru!"

Akamaru growled and barked.

Kiba snarled and started barking back.

-

Sasuke, getting totally freaked out by the bugs, ran all the way to the Hokage's office. She'd know what to do! After all she is the Hokage.

'He told me not to hurt them…he told me not to hurt them…so I won't hurt them…but Tsunade-sama might!' he thought of his beautiful plan that came out of his beautiful mind.

He dashed into the door and ran up the stairs, hearing the screams behind him as the bugs gained on him. He finally got to the Hokage's room and knocked. Hard.

"Yeah, yeah, what is it?" Tsunade's voice came through the door.

"Hokage-sama, it's Sasuke, can I please come in?" Sasuke said, as cool and calm as possible.

"Sasuke? It doesn't sound like you at all! I guess Kakashi was right, your voice was changing," she said. Sasuke nervously looked behind him and saw a roach crawl toward him. He resisted the urge to shriek like a little girl and instead pressed his back to the doorway.

"So can I please come in?" Sasuke asked, looking cautiously at the roach. It seemed to be looking up at him.

"I don't know Sasuke, CAN you?" Tsunade joked through the door.

Sasuke's face turned from that of nervousness to anger immediately. However, he knew NOT to get mad at the Hokage, especially HIM of all people, because…well, you know.

So he forced himself to say the words, "May I?"

More bugs started to crawl from around the corner, on the walls, on the floor, on the ceiling…

"May you…what?" the Fifth asked him. Sasuke strained to keep his anger under check. The incoming bugs all stopped at his feet. So close to his feet, in fact, that their little antennae were rubbing against his toes. 'Eugh. Gross…'

"May…I…come in?" he struggled to get out without screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Why's that?" Tsunade's voice came through the door. As well as some giggling noises. Sasuke's eyes turned red. No, it wasn't the Sharingan.

"WHO'S IN THERE?! If this is some kind of sick joke…!" All the bugs had gathered before him by now. They seemed to be attracted to the sound of his voice. Which they were.

Tsunade laughed. "Ah, Sasuke, we were just kidding. We all just love the sound of your new voice, we couldn't resist," she said, opening the door for him. Sasuke looked behind him to see the four jounin teacher s smiling from ear to ear. However, they suddenly frowned as they saw the bugs.

Tsunade quickly shut the door. "What in Konoha was that?" she asked the jounins, as if they knew.

"I…I…I…d-don't…KNOW!" Asuma said, half screaming because of the bugs and half stuttering because he hasn't smoked in days. Gai smacked him on the back, grinning with his shiny teeth.

"Hokage-sama, it looked like creepy crawly little bugs! Now WHERE could they have all come from?" he asked, partly to himself and the others.

"Kurenai, isn't that bug boy in your team?" Kakashi asked.

Kurenai nodded.

"Oh, well he's growing quite a handsome moustache," Kakashi said coolly as Sasuke screamed bloody murder.

* * *

**AN:** FINALLY, isn't it about time I update this fic? I seriously did not know what to do with it so I just started typing a few sentences and this was what I got from it. So it mostly focused on Sasuke (even though I don't like him much). And there was a teensy, really tiny hint of Neji/Tenten. But no worries! This fic is NOT romance, I repeat, NOT romance. It's just the teenage hormones going on between them, I'm telling you! Speaking of Neji, I think I'm making him into a sissy in this fic. Oh well.

Akamaru also had a bit of a rebellion against Kiba. Wasn't that interesting? It sounded like one of MY arguments with my parents, let me tell you. :P

This chapter had all the characters in it, as you could see. I was going to do a Gai's Team chapter but I didn't know how it could fit into the story…AT ALL. So I just didn't. Next chapter will most likely be the last of this fic…unless I think of more ideas. Buahaha. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It looks like the longest chapter yet, actually.

I just read the latest chapters of the manga and realized that my story absolutely CANNOT fit in anywhere on the Naruto timeline! Oh no! That's okay, this fic is now officially, completely AU. Yosh!

As always, thanks for reading,

Kawaii Yoshi


	10. It's OVER!

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.

**My Life as a Teenage Shinobi**

"Alright, Asuma-sensei. Just stand right here," Ino said, motioning to the wall in front of her. Team 10 was standing in the middle of Asuma's exercise room, finally checking his height for any changes.

Ino had complained that it had only been five days, but after Asuma's (and Chouji's and Shikamaru's) constant protests, she finally gave in on the fifth day.

Asuma looked like…a mess. His complexion could have matched with that of Orochimaru's, and his eyes were baggy, as if he had had trouble sleeping.

'And I did have trouble sleeping…I kept dreaming of those wonderful, luscious, cigarettes, and how they tasted, how the smoke puffed out of my mouth. Whenever I woke up, I was craving for one. But I couldn't, I couldn't, I would never live it down if I did, a true shinobi must keep his word, after all,' Asuma thought as he stepped up straight against the wall.

Ino grabbed a kunai out of her pouch. Using her other hand to lift up her Kakashi mask so it wouldn't fall off, she positioned the kunai over Asuma's head and made a mark on the measuring paper on the wall. Yes, Asuma did have a pretty cheap measurer, but hey, it still works, doesn't it?

Shikamaru sat lazily on one of the many exercise contraptions in the room, his legs sprawled out everywhere. Fortunately for his team, he had stopped growing for the time being. Chouji just munched away on his chips. He had made sure to bring extra bags too; he had gone so long without them that he would have to make up for lost time.

"What the…!!" Ino suddenly yelled out. Asuma peered behind him at the chart. And looked shocked as well.

"What the…!!" he said, mimicking Ino.

Chouji ambled over to them and looked at the chart as well. And promptly dropped his bag of chips. The three silently stared at the wall.

Shikamaru waited another minute before sighing in exasperation at his teammates. He got up and walked slowly to the wall. He took one look at the paper and rubbed his eyes.

"…Is this even possible?" he asked no one in particular.

"I don't…think so," Ino replied, still looking at the wall.

There was something definitely wrong. The mark that Ino had made with her kunai read 5"6'. However, the mark that they had made five days ago, had read 5" 8'. Yes, there was something definitely wrong.

Team 10 stared in silence once more, until Asuma's voice rang through the room.

"Ino, we didn't exactly make a bet on who would have won if I grew down, did we?"

"Nope, we didn't."

"So…can I have my cigarettes back?"

Team 10 nodded mutely.

-

"Neji, Lee."

"Tenten."

"Hi Tenten!"

Tenten walked to where Neji and Lee were standing, in their usual training spot. When she got there, they all stared at each other awkwardly. Tenten took a glance at Neji, then back to Lee. She did this several times.

'What is she doing? Trying to choose between me and bowl-head?' Neji thought, scrutinizing her every move.

'I hope he doesn't think I'm trying to choose between him and Lee. I just don't want to be obvious…or anything.' Tenten thought.

'I wonder if Tenten knows any real greetings like "Hi" or "Hello",' Lee wondered.

'Why are my students all standing in a bunch like they don't know each other?' Gai thought.

"Gai-sensei! When did you get here?" Lee asked him, as if he had read his teacher's thoughts. The green clad teacher was standing on a tree branch, arms crossed.

"Not too long ago, my beloved Lee. Now, my dear students!" he said, jumping off the branch with a flashy pose. "I have a special mission for you all!"

"Really? What is it?" Tenten asked, eagerly. It had been ages since they've done a decent mission, after all. Lee nodded enthusiastically, and Neji just stood there, being as stoic as ever.

"Come and see, my team, come and see. Just follow me!" Gai said, running through the forest like a maniac.

"Wow Gai-sensei, that rhymed!" Lee said, following suit.

Tenten and Neji were left behind. Neither of them really wanted to follow anyone who was running like that, even though there was probably no one for miles. But they looked at each other, and realized themselves that they were left behind…with each other. This made them reluctantly chase after Gai and Lee, who were already far, far away.

"Neji," Tenten said while zipping through the trees.

"Yes?"

"I was just thinking about it and…I don't think we should see each other anymore," she said. Neji raised an eyebrow at her.

"Tenten…I wasn't…aware that we were seeing each other," Neji replied, jumping onto another branch.

Tenten laughed. "Of course we weren't! I was just saying that we shouldn't."

Neji looked horribly and utterly baffled.

-

"Alright team; it's time to do our laps. Five laps around our usual path, alright? Go!" Kurenai beckoned her team to begin running, so they did. Not that they wanted to.

Five laps may have seemed like nothing, but their usual path consisted of the town AND the forest, plus they had to run up and down the Hokage monuments as well. So five laps for them would probably be the equivalent of one hundred laps around the town itself. So, in conclusion…it didn't really matter.

Hinata was in front, which was unusual, because running wasn't really her strong point. Meanwhile, Kiba, with Akamaru riding in his jacket, ran next to Shino. Shino looked at him.

"Yes?" he asked. Kiba never ran with him, and now that he was, he was slowing him down.

"Yo, Shino. Ever noticed Hinata?" Kiba asked him quietly, looking at the Hyuuga running ahead of them.

Shino looked back to the path he was running. Actually, it SEEMED like he was looking at the path, but in reality, he was rolling his eyes underneath his sunglasses. "Of course I have. She's been in our team for over a year, and I've talked to her a few times at the academy."

Kiba growled. "Not like that. You know what I mean, right? How about we have a man to man talk," Kiba said, grinning. "I don't think you've heard about the birds and the bees yet, have you?"

"I know everything about bees. Don't be stupid," Shino said, running a little faster. Maybe Kiba would fall behind and leave him alone.

Unfortunately, Kiba just sped up as well. Shino jumped over a stray branch in his pathway; they've made it to the forest. Hinata was no longer anywhere to be seen.

'Perfect,' Kiba thought. 'Now Shino and I can talk freely.'

"That's not what I meant either. You know, the talk about se…"

"I know," Shino interrupted. He didn't really feel like talking about "the talk", especially with Kiba. The bugs inside of him told them that he knew he wanted to, but he just told them to shut up.

"Well you know what I'm talking about then. So…what exactly is it?" Kiba asked, confused.

Shino was about ready to kill. 'How in Konoha am I supposed to explain the meaning of sexual activities to Kiba? Should I just avoid the topic…or maybe run away from him…' he thought.

The bugs told him to not avoid it, don't avoid it, OR ELSE.

'Or else what?' he thought. The bugs giggled. OR ELSE.

Shino sweatdropped. And sighed. This was the bad thing about having living things as a weapon. They knew every, every single little thing about you. Including the fact…that you're ticklish.

'You guys are disgusting,' Shino thought. And they just responded with the fact that they are creepy crawly bugs, and they are supposed to be disgusting.

Shino cleared his throat.

"Well…Kiba…" he cleared his throat again. Kiba nodded, careful to look where he was running so he wouldn't trip.

"The birds and the bees is just a metaphor to…describe…it," Shino said, choosing his words carefully. Kiba nodded again.

'Good. At least he's not that stupid,' Shino thought. The bugs giggled inside of him.

"I understand that, but I don't understand why they call it the birds and the bees! What does sex have to do with flying things?" Kiba asked, face contorted in confusion.

Shino stared at him. 'Maybe he is stupid.'

"Well, you know how some birds, like hummingbirds, drink nectar from flowers. It is the same with bees. When they do so, sometimes, pollen from the flower…latches on to them, and when they fly away, they spread the pollen around to un-pollenated flowers and…they make new flowers…" Shino trailed off, cheeks turning a bit red.

"What? What does pollen have to do with sex?" Kiba asked, getting angry. "I don't understand this at all." Akamaru barked in agreement.

Shino's face turned even redder. The bugs inside of him started going into hysterics.

After taking care not to trip over a rock, Shino started to speed up again. Unfortunately for him, Kiba sped up too.

Shino's eyes furrowed. Why did he have to go through this? Why him, of all people…

Then he had a brilliant idea.

'Maybe if I catch up to Hinata-san, this guy will stop bugging me,' he thought. The bugs laughed even harder when he said "bugging me", because he was also giving a reference to them.

With that, Shino sped up even faster. Kiba kept right in step with him. So he quickened his pace even more.

"Shino? Shino? What's up, man? Why are you going faster?" Kiba asked, huffing. Akamaru barked. Not that the dog needed to be worried about it at all, as he was under the comforts of Kiba's nice, warm, sweaty jacket.

Shino couldn't take it anymore. He suddenly jumped up into the trees ninja style, and jumped across the branches. After all, this way was more effective and less tiresome. Of course, Kiba had to follow him.

The bug boy listened for any signs from Hinata. Any signs at all, to get Kiba out of his face! And finally…

'There!' he saw her running down the Hokage monuments. Have they really been that far behind? He raced over to her, Kiba following suit.

Finally, he landed right in front of Hinata, who practically shrieked when she saw him.

"Shino-kun! What…" she said standing there, breathing steadily. She might as well have gotten a heart attack from the shock. Tsk tsk, Shino.

Shino looked up to where he last sensed Kiba. Sure enough, he was there, hiding behind a tree on a branch.

Shino adjusted his sunglasses and turned around, back to the path.

"I'm going to finish my lap now." And so he ran off, leaving a bewildered Hinata behind with a flustered Kiba.

'That damn Shino…he'll pay for this. But…I can't let this chance pass up! I have to…I have to say something to her!' Kiba thought.

He jumped down. "Hey, Hinata."

The Hyuuga heir turned to see Kiba.

"Oh, hello, Kiba-kun."

"So…Hinata…how are…your laps going?" he asked, making small talk.

"Oh, just fine. I can run a whole lap without getting as tired as I used to," Hinata said, smiling.

Kiba wasn't just looking at her smiling face. Two guesses as to what else he was looking at.

"That's great, Hinata! Would you…like to…run with me?" he asked, feeling a blush coming in.

The Hyuuga smiled even wider. "Sure."

Kiba grinned as they started to run. 'Score one for Inuzuka, zero for Uzumaki.' He thought. It was oh so obvious that Hinata liked Naruto, and Kiba decided that he would show Hinata how much better of a guy he was than him.

'But for now,' he thought as he glanced sideways at the running figure, 'for now, this is alright, I guess.'

-

Naruto stepped out of his small apartment, locking the door behind him. After making sure his forehead protector was secure, and that his Come, Come, Paradise book was safely tucked in his pocket, he ran off to meet the day.

Late.

He had stayed up most of the night, wanting to finish the epic tale of Kakashi's favorite book. Unfortunately, he didn't get to finish before he dropped off to sleep, at two in the morning. When he woke, he didn't even bother to look in the mirror; he just popped in ramen in the microwave for three minutes and slurped that up in three seconds.

'I wonder if this is why Kakashi-sensei is always late,' Naruto thought, running towards his team's meeting spot.

Sure enough, Sasuke and Sakura were already there. And…Naruto gasped. So was Kakashi! He must be really, REALLY late!

He sprinted over to the bridge and started muttering excuses to why he was late.

"I'm sorry I'm so late, I woke up late, and then I…" he decided to add something heroic for good measure, "I saved Granny Tsunade from these bad, horrible ninjas. They had to be at LEAST ANBU level!" He flexed for them.

Sakura bashed him on the head. "Idiot! If you're going to make excuses, make them believable!" she yelled. Sasuke nodded slightly.

Meanwhile, Kakashi stared at Naruto, his one eye wide open. "Sensei?" the jounin said, quietly. His team of three turned towards him.

"Kakashi-sensei, did you say something?" Naruto asked.

"No, Naruto, I was just saying, I love what you did with your hair," Kakashi, said, crinkling his one eye, a sign that meant he was smiling. Naruto looked confused.

"My hair?" He started to grab his hair.

Sakura stepped up to him and looked at him closely. Naruto stared at her, his eyes scrunched up, very Naruto-like.

"Sakura-chan, does my hair look any different?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Naruto, your hair extends past the front of your ears?"

If possible, Naruto looked even more confused. Sasuke crossed his arms, looking exasperated at the blonde boy.

"Yep! They are, more or less, called sideburns," Kakashi said, suddenly being the happy-go-lucky guy he normally was.

"Sideburns?" Naruto repeated.

"Sideburns," Kakashi confirmed. Naruto's hair had gone so long without a haircut, so his hair became longer in the front, looking someone like …'Naruto…you look so much like him…'

"So what does it mean? I have to get a haircut?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi sighed. "It means you're becoming mature, Naruto."

Blue eyes widened at this statement. "Me? Mature? I'm becoming mature? Me? YES!!" he yelled. Sakura looked a tad annoyed at his yelling.

Sasuke coughed. "So let's just get to whatever we're doing today," Sasuke said, irritated that he had wasted about an hour of his time waiting for Naruto, then another five minutes of his time talking about Naruto's sideburns.

"Okay then. Today, everyone, we have a D-rank mission!" Kakashi said, enthusiastically.

The three genin sighed.

'Another D-rank? I bet we're going to end up looking for a pig this time or something,' Sakura thought.

'Another D-rank? Tch. What a waste of my time,' Sasuke thought.

"ANOTHER D-RANK?! Kakashi-sensei, why won't Granny Tsunade give us BETTER missions?!" Naruto complained out loud.

"Naruto, you're supposed to be more mature now, so SHUT UP!" Sakura shouted.

Kakashi ignored the argument. "C'mon, let's go."

-

The morning slowly became afternoon, and the afternoon soon became night. And THAT meant that all missions were finished for the day.

"HOORAY!" Naruto said, walking with Sakura and Sasuke down the dimly lit streets of Konoha.

"You know, Naruto, now that Kakashi-sensei's told you you're becoming mature, you've been acting immature at the tiniest things," Sakura said, scolding him. Naruto grinned at her.

"But Sakura-chan, now that the day's over, we don't have to do boring D-rank missions anymore!" he said.

Sakura giggled. "Actually, today's mission was pretty amusing, if you ask me," she said, looking sideways at Sasuke. The Uchiha gave her a dark look.

Naruto laughed loudly. "Oh YEAH! Sasuke, that pig LOVED you! Whenever you talked, it oinked and started to chase you! That was soo…funny!"

Sasuke snorted. "It wasn't as funny as when you fell in the mud trying to catch it."

Naruto looked furiously down at his clothes that used to be orange. He gave Sasuke the same look. "Shut up, Sasuke BASTARD!"

Sasuke showed a sign of a faint smirk and shoved his hands in his pockets. He stayed quiet.

Naruto seemed angry. "Hey, HEY! Don't IGNORE me!" he shouted.

"Naruto, you told him to shut up," Sakura said, holding back a laugh.

Naruto "hmph"ed, and that was the end of that.

They had kept quiet most of the way, until they turned a corner, straight into Team 10.

"Agh! Forehead Sakura, watch where you're going!" Ino said. Sakura nearly screamed her lungs out.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Ino looked at her strangely. 'Oh…I see.'

"Sakura you idiot, it's me, Ino!" she said, whipping her mask off.

Team 7 gasped, along with 2/3 of Team 10. Ino hadn't taken that mask off since she got it. Now, if only Kakashi would take off his mask…

"There, happy? I hope you have fun laughing at my ugly, nasty face…" Ino practically wailed.

"But…Ino, there's nothing…on your face," Shikamaru pointed out.

Ino was shocked. "What? What are you talking about?" She felt her face.

"They're…they're…GONE! Oh sweet Hokage, they're gone! My face is beautiful again!" she exclaimed in joy.

Naruto looked at her as if she were the craziest thing he'd ever seen. "What's gone?" he asked.

"Naruto, don't be stupid," Sakura said.

"They're gone, they're gone!" Ino sang, dancing down the street.

"C'mon Chouji. It's troublesome, but we're going to have to catch her when someone throws a rock at her to shut her up," Shikamaru said, following the girl slowly. Chouji opened up another bag of chips. It was going to be a long night for them.

Meanwhile, the remaining genin stared. Naruto broke the silence by saying, "Okay! Who wants to go for ramen?"

"Naruto, I thought you were only going to have ramen once a week. You're mature now, after all," Sakura said, hiding a smile.

"But, that was only to become mature. Now that I'm already mature, I can do all the things I used to do when I was immature! Ramen, here I come!" Naruto ran towards Ichiraku. Sakura sighed when she heard his illogical logic.

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke, I'll treat you guys if you want!" he said, already down the street. Sasuke smirked. Naruto never invited him to eat ramen. Maybe he was becoming a bit more mature. He decided that he'd humor the boy; after all, who would turn down free food?

"Sure Naruto, I'd love some," he said. Sakura glanced at Sasuke. Had he accepted Naruto's proposal for ramen? In that case…

"Hey, count me in too!" she said, running towards Naruto.

-

A few hours later, when Sakura was back home…

A shriek. "It's over, it's OVER!"

-

**AN:** And over it is, folks. I must say, I had a doozy of a time writing this chapter. I don't know what it was that gave me the inspiration to even start writing it, but I did and I finished! I tried to end every single little plot that I started in this fic. The only real thing that's left open for "speculation", as I call it, is the Kiba/Hinata/Naruto thing. By the way, Kiba not only likes Hinata for her looks; I'm telling you, it's just a teenager thing.

Naruto is starting to look like Yondaime-sama himself. I had no clue as to what to give Naruto as a maturity thing, so I just decided to give him "sideburns". I'm aware that the Yondaime doesn't REALLY have sideburns, it just sort of seems that way. So whatever. Naruto was also starting to become unselfish by treating Sakura AND Sasuke to ramen. End of Naruto's story.

Asuma grew down. Yes, he grew down. NO you don't REALLY grow down if you don't smoke, please don't start smoking just because you might think it helps you grow….NO it doesn't. I just wanted to put something really weird and unexpected for that little plot. End of Asuma's story.

It's been five days, so Sakura's monthly visitor is over. So I thought it would be funny to have her scream "It's over!" at the end of the fic. Really fitting, isn't it?

Shino…birds and the bees…couldn't. Resist.

Neji and Tenten were just one big mystery to me. It's like one of those "couples" at school who think they like each other, but then they realize that they don't really, and decide to break it off even before they started going out. Those people confuse me to no end.

I just realized that Lee didn't have a strange maturity quirk in this story. Oh well, bit too late for that.

I think my writing style has changed again since the last time I updated this story. I hope it's not too conspicuous.

Alrighty, here comes the end of my giant author's note:

Thank you, everyone, review or not, for reading this story. It means a lot to me, even though the entire concept was strange in itself. If you enjoyed this story, (plug) then please go read some of my other stories. They're not all about puberty, but hey…:P

As always, thank you for reading,

Kawaii Yoshi


End file.
